Learning the Truth
by Breakdown6
Summary: Santana and Brittany meet in Junior high.  Innocent to the world around them, feeling like their friendship is perfectly normal until Santana's mom makes a lesbian joke about them that changes the dynamic of their friendship, perhaps forever.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: The same ol' story, I don't own Glee or anything about it. In fact this story only slightly resembles Glee, I'll be working on a few chapters of this, but if I don't get enough response it may not stay updated very frequently. So, give me some kind of response (even if it's brutal haha) Otherwise, enjoy!**

Santana was an out going girl through grade school, in fact many of the kids were afriaid of her and another girl. She never really understood why, she'd always been nice to people. The truth was, she was very much one of the boys, she had no issue playing football with them at recess and initiating snowball fights before the teachers came to break it up. She never saw a problem with it.

As junior high started, she began to realize that being one of the boys didn't exactly get you the boys you'd long sought after. When all of the elementary schools combined, she noticed the other girls were in cute shirts and jeans, their hair was done and some actually had already started wearing make up. Now, she wasn't about to make an over night transformation, but she started adding extra girly things to her wardrobe. Being the younger of 2 kids, she'd already been given hand-me-downs from her sister but many of the things were not Santana's style.

Luckily for her, money wasn't an issue, and her closet quickly filled with the popular brand of clothing. With the new wardrobe, she began making more friends. She was still a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl who'd rather just leave her hair down or up in a pony tail than learn to do anything else with it, but with her new friends, who had the skills of french braiding and other fun things, she no longer had to learn the art of "doing one's hair."

Santana was sitting in the middle of her choir room, waiting for class to start when Quinn, a girl she'd recently met in one of her previous classes, sat down next to her.

"Hey Santana, I didn't know you'd be in this class! Now we have two classes together, that's awesome!" Quinn beamed, linking her arms with Santana who's face burned from the closeness.

"Heh, yeah, I liked choir class in grade school, and the teacher said I was pretty good, so I figured I'd keep going." The badass Santana Lopez from grade school was long gone, replaced by a shy insecure version.

As class began, they did warm ups and listened to the teacher talk about possible songs they would be singing for the winter performance a few months away.

"Santana, you're pretty good from what I can hear." Quinn whispered. Santana smiled thanking her and returning the compliment. "We should hang out sometime." As Santana was about to answer the door to the choir room opened and a blonde girl in braided pig tails walked in, a smile spread across her face.

"Miss PIerce I presume?" The teacher spoke, her eyes narrowing from her perch against the piano. The girls smile fell, her eyes focused on the floor.

"I'm sorry Ms. H, Mr. Thompson needed me to stay after class and then I just kind of got lost coming here. It won't happen again, I swear." Ms. H, as everyone called her, nodded to the empty chair next to Quinn and resumed her speech about proper diction and pronunciation when singing.

"Britt, I told you I would've waited for you after class." Quinn whispered quickly. Brittany merely shrugged and smiled back at her friend. When class was over, Brittany, Santana and Quinn all realized they had lunch together.

"Oh, by the way, Santana this is Brittany, she's one of my best friends, we grew up together. Britt, this is Santana, we have gym together and as you saw, choir and now lunch." Quinn smiled, she had a feeling the three of them were going to quickly become inseparable.

Inseparable seemed to be an understatement. The classes Santana didn't have with Quinn, she realized she had with Brittany so naturally, they sat together in all of their classes. In the mornings when the girls would get to school early, they would sit in the cafeteria and Brittany would put Santana's hair into two french braids. It became a calming mechanism, the feel of Brittany's fingers running through her hair, and the way they quietly made fun of other students sitting around them. After school they'd go to one of their houses, Brittany and Quinn living out in the more country part of town, a 20 minute drive from school, and Santana only 10 minutes. A lot of their time spent at Quinn's or Brittany's. Santana's dad was always driving around town for his job and had no issues with the longer trek to pick up Santana later in the evening.

Brittany was sitting on top of one of tables with Santana between her legs on the bench below one morning before first period, not having to do Santana's hair that morning, they sat watching the boys congregate at an adjacent table and a few of the older kids talking at another.

"Hey San?" Santana looked up at Britt, watching as she bit her lip nervously. "I'm thinking of trying out for the dance team here. I figure the cheerleaders are pretty lame but the pom & dance team seems to have the cooler people."

"You should. You're a great dancer, besides I'm pretty sure you guys get the halftime performances, not the cheerleaders. It's obvious what the better choice is." Santana scoffed, looking at the girls in the cheerleading uniforms and the ones on the pom team who didn't feel the need to wear their uniforms to school. She could tell Brittany was still nervous about her decision. "Hey, just tell me when it is and I'll wait for you after school. My dad can pick us up and maybe you can just stay at my house for the night since you live farther away." She reached up, squeezing Brittany's knee in an attempt to comfort her.

"That would be awesome. Thank you so much San. You're my best friend! Well, other than Quinn of course." Santana laughed.

"Well, obviously B, we are the three musketeers! Nothing can separate us!"

When the bell rang Brittany linked arms with Santana, her elbow locked tight knowing Santana would try to squirm out of the simple embrace like she usually did.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" Santana looked at her, confused.

"Try to break out, like you're afraid or something."

"I don't know, it just seems weird I guess. I mean I don't mind it, but something just seems, weird, but you can Quinn just can't seem to stop."

"We like to watch you squirm." Brittany smiled, then whispered, "I think it's really cute how hard you try to fight it." Santana could feel her face redden. "It's even cuter that your face gets so red."

"Ok, so, class time. Let's learn some Science!" Santana hurried towards her seat, even though she always sat next to Britt, the short amount of space was essential to calm her nerves.

The rest of the day progressed just like any other. Between Quinn and Brittany constantly trying to make her squirm she finally decided to just suck it up and not let it get to her. When Santana got home, she flopped onto her bed and started doing her math homework so that she could get it over with. She heard the phone ringing but figured her parents would answer it since it's usually for them.

"Santanaaaa, phooooone!" Santana flipped off her bed, grabbing the green cordless from her desk in the corner, which was less of a desk and more of a glorified shelving unit for pictures and random junk.

"Hello?"

"Heeeyyyyy!" Brittany and Quinn sang in unison.

"Oh, Hey guys! What's going on?"

"Well, we figured since you couldn't come hang out with us tonight, we'd at least call you and pretend you were hanging out with us." The girls talked for another twenty minutes about class and homework. Santana ended up helping Brittany with a few problems since she'd finished it right before they called.

"Hey, I have a fun idea, hold on I'm going to put you on speaker phone. Britt stand to the other side of the table. No, the other side. Stop, right there, do NOT move." Santana laughed, imagining Brittany shuffling around Quinn's table.

"Okay, I'm going to put the phone on the table, ask a question and then spin the phone, who ever it lands on is the answer of the question. Santana if it lands on the phone cradle, that's you and we'll tell you. Okay, who will get kissed first."

"Brittany! Haha, okay Britt, ask a question."

"Um... Who will... have sex first?... Quinn! San, it's your turn!"

"Who will have kids first?"

"Ah, what am I a whore?" Quinn screeched. "Ugh, who will get married first?"

"Oooo Sanny gets married first!"

"I don't like this game anymore."

"Aww, Q, is it because you're getting knocked up without getting married first?" Britt innocently asked, causing Santana to burst into laughter.

"It's okay Quinny I don't think I'll be getting married anytime soon so you have plenty of time to pop out a kid before I do haha" Santana could hardly hold in her laughter. Before she could make anymore smart remarks Santana heard her father calling her for dinner. "Sorry guys but it seems dinner is served, I'll see you guys tomorrow and Britt, we still on for after school?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Brittany chirped, the excitement barely contained in her voice. After they hung up Quinn looked at Brittany, her eye brow raised.

"She's hanging out after school after my try outs for the pom team." Brittany shrugged. "I knew you had to be home for when your brother gets home from school and Santana offered to stay after and said I could stay at her place so.."

"Well, that's cool of her. I'm glad we are all friends, she seems really cool." Quinn spoke, absentmindedly.

"Yeah, I'm glad too. You two are my best friends. I don't think any one else really understands me like you guys do. I mean I have friends at the dance studio, but they go to the other junior high so that doesn't count." Quinn smiled at her simplicity and pulled the girl towards the living room to watch TV before Britt's mom came to pick her up on her way home from work.

Santana sat through dinner, having mindless conversation about her day with her parents, and reminding them that Brittany would be coming over after school the next day. This would be the girls' first sleepover at Santana's house, and she was very anxious. She was also excited to watch Brittany's try outs. She figured they wouldn't openly allow her to sit and watch but having the benefits of an older sister she'd been informed of the blind spots of the gym where she could watch without being caught. Santana had only seen Brittany dance a few times, but whenever she did, she couldn't keep her eyes off of the way Brittany's body moved. As if her bones only existed when she needed them to and everything else just bent with ease. She knew, if given the chance, she would sit and watch Brittany dance everyday for the rest of her life, happy. A feeling that nagged in the back of her mind, but was consistently ignored.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to the 2 reviewers so far. I hope you'll still stick around as this story continues haha As always, I own nothing, Glee is just amazing. Reviews are always welcome, no matter what you have to say. I also take suggestions for what you'd like to see happen, I'm sure I can work things in periodically! Enjoy! :-)**

The next day's series of classes flew by, in choir the teacher introduced their first piece for their winter concert, some lame song called Stray Cat Strut. Brittany beamed and immediately went into a story about Lord Tubbington's days as a super model. Everything after that seemed to be pointless, both Santana and Brittany were nervous for the after school events. Although, for different reasons.

"Hey babe!" Brittany pulls Santana from her locker and into a tight hug. The term of affection used on every one of Brittany's friends, yet Santana smiles as if it's only for her.

"Hey Britt! Ready for your tryouts?" Santana pulls out of the hug but leaves one arm wrapped around Brittany's waist. Brittany looked surprised at the contact, but smiled proudly thinking Santana was finally getting past her odd squirminess.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean it can't be that hard. Junior high poms? Psshh" She tries to dismiss her nerves but Santana can see right through it.

"Britt, I know you better than this. Trust me, you'll be fine. I have all the faith in the world that you have this in the bag. Remember, I'll be there right after, no matter what." Brittany's smile grows, grabbing her bag off the ground and pulling Santana towards the gym. "B, I can't go in there, I'm not allowed. You go get ready, I'll be waiting in the cafeteria when you get done." Brittany nods and bounces through the doors.

Santana walks towards the cafeteria to get a soda and some chips from the vending machine before they shut them down for the night. She knows try outs won't start for another twenty minutes so she's not too eager to get set in her hiding spot just yet. Realizing, she has homework for the weekend, and knowing that none of it will get done until Sunday, she figures she'd at least start it.

As Santana finishes her english assignment, the easiest of all her homework, she can hear the muffled sounds of yelling from the gym doors. Glancing at the clock she realizes it's time for the try outs to begin. With her bag packed, she walks down the opposite hallway her and Britt were in previously and finds the unmarked door her sister mentioned. _When the bleachers are out, which they will be, this door opens underneath. It's so the security people can get in and out unnoticed, but the lock's been broken for years so just make sure no one is around when you go in._ Her sister's words echo, slipping in she makes her way carefully through the maze of bars under the bleachers, trying her best not to make too much noise. She finds a spot between the seats where she can see Brittany and a handful of other girls standing awkwardly in front of a group of uniformed girls.

"Okay newbies, we are going to run this routine at normal speed so you can see what it looks like and then we'll break it down for you. How well you catch on will determine if you get in or not."

Santana watched the intricacies of the dance, amazed at how easily the girls could move. She'd never been one for dancing. When she was three her parents signed her up for tap lessons and as soon as she had to perform for the parents she cried behind her dad's legs and they never went back. She'd always been amazed at the girls who just did it without any fear. Girls like Brittany.

"Ok, 5,6,7,8. kick. step, turn, down, turn, arms, arms, leg, arms, 1 and 2, 3 and 4. Good. You what's your name?" Santana's eyes focused on Brittany now.

"Brittany Pierce." Her voice was shaky but she stood confidently.

"Well, Brittany, I want you to do that again, by yourself, up here in front." Santana couldn't tell if these girls were being mean, or using Brittany as a good example. From the look on Brittany's face, she didn't know either but she did as she was told. "Great, now back in line."

As the try-outs continued other girls were singled out like Brittany, but Santana still couldn't tell what the purpose was for it.

"Okay, that's it for today. Meet back here on Monday and we'll have the decision made." As the girls started walking towards the locker room one of the uniformed girls called Brittany over. Santana tried to listen but their whispering was too quiet and both girls backs were to her so she couldn't read their lips or expressions.

"Hey. I'm done now, is your dad here yet?" Brittany walked quickly over to Santana who had returned to the cafeteria unseen, looping their arms and pulling her out towards the parking lot.

"Whoa slow down Britt, my legs aren't as long as yours. He'll be here in a few minutes. Are you okay?" Brittany stopped just outside the doors, leaning against the building with her eyes closed biting nervously on her fingers.

"Brittany what did that girl say to you afterwards?" Brittany's head shot to Santana, confused. Santana ducked her head, "I may or may not have snuck in to watch the try outs." Brittany burst out laughing, confusing Santana even more.

"Oh my gosh, that WAS you! I thought I was seeing things." Santana was now even more confused. "I don't know what it was but I had a feeling like I was being watched, then I saw movement under the bleachers and the whole time I thought I was seeing a ghost that lives under the bleachers and was worried that maybe we woke it up from an afternoon nap." Brittany let out a sigh of relief.

"A ghost Britt, really? Anyway what did the girl say afterwards?" Brittany looked around and leaned close to Santana's ear.

"I'll tell you in the car." She jumped from the wall as Santana saw her dad's car pulling up in front of them.

"Hi-ya girls, care for a ride?"

"We can't give Britt a ride until she promises to tell me what the girl said to her when we get in." Santana's dad looked at Brittany.

"I promise. Pinkies." Britt held up her pinky to Santana who took it, each girl kissing the other side of their hand to seal the promise.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's go. Your mom won't be home tonight and I might have to run out later, so I thought we'd just order something whenever you girls are hungry."

"Sounds great dad. Now B, spill."

"Okay, but you can't tell anyone and don't freak out." Britt bounced excitedly in the backseat. "I guess I did really good, and when they pulled me in front of everyone they wanted to see how I did performing in front of a group. That part was easier than doing it IN a group, with other girls messing up I thought I'd forgotten the steps. Anyway, they said they always pick one girl to tell early and that girl was me. I'm officially on the pom squad!" Cheers filled the car, all three of them doing a celebration dance in their seats.

"See Britt, I knew you could do it! You were so worried! Aaaahh I'm so happy for you!"

"Well, the only catch is I have to keep up my grades. They like to have smart people on their squad."

"Britt, you're smart. If you need help just ask me or Quinn. We got this." Santana turned in her seat to smile reassuringly.

When they'd arrived at the Lopez residence the girls ran straight to the basement telling Mr. Lopez they were going to watch a movie until it was time to decide on dinner. Santana's basement wasn't anything overly exciting. There was a semi unfinished kitchen area, and a living room with a futon and a TV next to a desk that had an old apple computer collecting dust.

After putting in the movie and grabbing drinks from the fridge, Brittany jumped over the back of the futon and landed next to Santana, her legs draped over the side with her head resting on Santana's legs.

"What movie did you pick?" Her answer was given as soon as the opening credits rolled.

"Wizard of Oz? I should've known." Brittany had a borderline unhealthy obsession with the movie. She could recite every line perfectly and had almost gotten all the munchkin voices down. Santana picked up on it quickly from all the times they'd already watched it and now when they watched, they practically re-enacted the whole thing.

"Try outs make me exhausted." Brittany mumbled against the comforting leg beneath her. She nuzzled her head against Santana's leg. It was their signal and Santana didn't hesitate to run her fingers through Brittany's hair. "Mmmmm" Brittany shivered. "I could get used to this." Santana smiled down at the girl silently agreeing. She'd had best friends growing up, but something about Brittany was different. She felt this pull towards her that was stronger than anything else, to Santana that just meant they were meant to be best friends and this was going to be an important friendship that she'd always remember.

When the movie was over, Brittany had fallen asleep on Santana's leg and Santana asleep with her head back, her left hand still in Brittany's hair while the other rested on her side. They woke when Santana's dad yelled that he'd be back later and they could order pizza as long as they left him a few pieces.

"So, I saw this boy named Finn in class the other day. He's kind of cute." Britt said between bites of cheese pizza.

"Yeah, I have a few classes with him, he's alright. I'm kind of looking at that Noah kid that everyone calls Puck."

"Ah, the bad boy type huh? We should ask them out next week. I mean, they both seem cool and will probably be popular. I hear they are going to try out for the basketball team when the season starts."

"How is it that you hear everything and I hear nothing, I talk to basically everyone!"

"Well, people don't really talk TO me, they talk around me. I guess they think I'm not really listening since I have trouble paying attention in class. I hear a lot."

"Like what?"

"Well, did you know that Ms. H used to be on broadway but then they told her she was too old so she had a mental breakdown before getting a job here?"

"Wow, that explains a lot"

"Yeah, but I don't see why she just didn't take it to a mechanic. Whenever my dad's car breaks down we take it to the mechanic guy and it's fixed the next day. My dad says years don't matter as long as you can keep fixing what's wrong. Maybe I should tell Ms. H that."

"Maybe not B. I think she's had enough time to figure it out. Maybe she likes what she's doing now. Let's just keep that plan between us for now." Brittany shrugged and nodded, finishing her pizza.

The girls spent the rest of the night talking about people at school, but mostly boys, ranking who was cuter. When they finally realized they should go to bed, they decided to just stay in the basement, it was colder and they could leave the TV on all night without disturbing anyone else. They'd settled in, facing each other, talking about what they wanted to do tomorrow. They decided they'd call Quinn and the three of them would go see a movie then go to Brittany's and take her brothers go-karts around the field behind her house. This plan tentative on the okay from their parents, but they weren't worried.

"Okay, I'm falling asleep. Good night San." Brittany reached over and hugged Santana good night.

"Night Britts." Brittany turned over, and curled up into her pillow while Santana lay still on her side.

"Santana, can you rub my back until I fall asleep?" Santana could barely hear her. Knowing she'd fall asleep quickly, she complied loving the way her hands felt running over Brittany's back. It didn't take long before Brittany's breathing was heavier, Santana kept going anyway until she too fell asleep, her hand resting on the girl's back.


	3. Chapter 3

Mr. Lopez pulled into Brittany's driveway where Quinn was already standing waiting for them.

"Thanks for the ride dad, I'll call you in the morning to let you know if Mrs. P or one of Quinn's parents are bringing me back home." Santana slid out of the car with Brittany and Quinn behind her.

"Yeah thanks for the ride Mr. Lopez, and thanks for letting me stay over." Britt smiled bouncing away from the car.

"Running late much?" Quinn looked at directly at Brittany.

"Why do you guys always blame me when someone's running late?" Britt pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's okay B, I guess I wasn't moving very fast either, but in my defense when someone is dancing around my room while I'm trying to pack, it doesn't exactly speed up the process." Quinn laughed, knowing exactly what Santana was talking about while Brittany still stood sulking. "Aww B, it's okay, it was cute." This cracked Brittany's act and she immediately pulled the girls inside so they could put their stuff in her room.

"Okay, who's ready for go-karts? I think all three of them are up and running, as long as Andy didn't crash his again." Santana and Quinn followed Brittany to the large shed behind her house.

"Alright, you two fight over the red and blue ones I'm taking the green one. It's a bit tricky to handle." Santana claimed the blue one and the girls drove out of the shed towards the open field. Unbeknownst to them the fields had recently been watered and they were quickly covered in mud. They decided to race from one side to the other, Brittany winning with ease, whipping them with mud as she spun donuts. The mud whipping became their new game, who could get the other one more dirty. After two hours of this, Santana's engine started to sputter and they realized they should probably head back before the mud completely destroyed all three karts.

"No. No. No. You three stay outside, I will not have you tracking mud into my house. The hose is around the corner, rinse yourselves off and I'll leave some rag towels on the steps for you." Brittany's mom cut the girls off at the door, having watched the antics from her kitchen window.

Once the girls had cleaned off enough they left their shoes in the garage and peeled their socks off, tossing them in the laundry basket nearby. Brittany took the girls to her room and gave them a pair of sweats and a shirt to wear so they could wash the still slightly muddy clothes.

"Okay, now that's done, what do you want to do? My brothers are gone so the whole basement living room is open, we can just watch a movie for now if you want." Quinn and Santana nodded running down the stairs.

"Whoa, Britt, I didn't know you had a dance floor down here!" Santana slid across the wood floor. Watching herself cross the mirrored wall.

"Yeah, it's the only part of the basement that's mine. The other times you've been over the boys were home so we couldn't go down there." Brittany twirled around the floor periodically doing leaps. Quinn smiled, having seen this part of Brittany for years. As her eyes followed Brittany in the mirror they stopped on Santana who was leaning against the back wall, eyes glued to Brittany, traveling up and down her slim figure. A different kind of smile than Quinn's, one Quinn couldn't quite describe until she saw Santana lick her lips.

"Alright ballerina Britt, let's watch a movie." Quinn's voice broke the daze Santana had been in and threw Brittany's spin off, causing her to fall into the couch.

"Sorry, I get into a rhythm and can't really stop. What do you guys want to watch? Most of the DVDs are on the bookshelf but if none of those appeal to you, I have a few more in a book thing up in my room I can get." Quinn walked over to the bookshelf, browsing the selection.

"Well, I vote NOT the Wizard of Oz." Santana laughed. "But if little miss ballerina over here is in dance mode, I'm sure there are plenty good movies that also have dancing in them."

"I was thinking the same thing. Step Up? Followed by Step Up 2?" Quinn asked, grabbing both from the shelf. "I'm hoping these are yours Britt and not your brothers'."

"Well, Andy has the hots for Briana Evigan so him and I bought Step Up 2 as soon as it came out. Eric on the other hand thinks we're both crazy, he's the proud owner of all those violent army and gangster movies." Brittany shuddered at the thought of those movies, she was never a fan of blood and guts, it always made her sad.

Quinn put the movie in and took a seat in the recliner next to the couch. Brittany lay down on the couch and Santana took a seat on the floor against the couch by Brittany's feet.

"San, you can sit up here you know, I can move." Britt smiled, starting to sit up.

"No, don't move, just lift your legs," Santana slid underneath and pulled Brittany's legs down on her lap. "There, now my butt won't fall asleep and you can still stretch. Win Win."

"Well, if you're butt is tired, maybe you shouldn't be sitting on it. I know when I'm tired I don't like people sitting on me." Santana smiled and shushed Brittany turning her attention to the movie.

Midway through the movie, Santana found herself rubbing Brittany's calves. She sheepishly looked at Brittany who was focused on the movie, smiling. When Santana stopped her hands Brittany wiggled her legs, her eyes never leaving the screen but her face turning into a slight pout.

"Brat." Santana whispered as her hands continued massaging Britt's legs. Quinn had been secretly watching their exchange. She'd known Brittany since they were six and while Britt had always been very friendly, never has anyone responded the way Santana has. Watching their friendship grow throughout the year so far, Quinn knew she'd been witnessing something epic and unique. She wasn't sure what their deal was, but she wasn't about to interfere. She loved both girls equally and having them as her best friends was better than anything she could ask for.

"Girls, I have some sandwich stuff out if you're hungry!" Brittany's mom yelled from the top of the stairs. Brittany popped up immediately.

"Shit Britt! Excited much?" Quinn laughed at the girl's excitement, crawling out of her chair. Santana stood as well trying to dodge Brittany's impatient jumping.

"Alright rock star, let's feed that tiny body of yours." Santana said poking her stomach. Santana started walking towards the stairs when she felt someone jump onto her back and two arms wrap around her neck.

"This rock star doesn't want to walk up the stairs and demands you carry her!"

"Alright Miss Pierce, whatever you need just let me know. I am at your service." Santana adjusted her grip on Brittany's legs and followed Quinn upstairs.

Santana kept Brittany on her back as she walked to the counter full of sandwich ingredients.

"Hold on tight Miss Pierce." Santana whispered. Brittany's legs gripped her sides and her arms tightened around her shoulders. Santana made her sandwich first before starting on Brittany's then setting her down at the table.

"Mmmm, you make good sandwiches, like double decker kind." Brittany said, her mouth full of turkey and cheese.

"Well, what can I say, I'm a sandwich artist prodigy." Santana dusted off her shoulder with a smug grin, her head tilted up.

"So after these culinary masterpieces, do you two still want to watch movies or should we do something else?" Quinn looked towards the two girls, hoping they'd want to do something else.

"Football! It's a really nice day, we should play football!"

"Uh, Britt there's only three of us."

"Okay then, we could... go back downstairs put on music and create our own music video, or a dance or something. I mean we all know we can sing, and I can dance and probably teach you guys something easy."

Santana and Quinn looked skeptical at first but agreed when Brittany said if they didn't have fun they could pick whatever they wanted to do instead.

As it turned out, this was the most fun any of the girls had in a long time. They did a few Destiny's Child songs for the obvious trio reasons, some old songs and a few boy band songs to try and mimic the choreography from the music videos.

"Dang San, in choir you're usually pretty quiet it's hard to hear you, but you have a great voice!" Quinn's compliment was echoed by Brittany.

"Whatever you guys are amazing, I don't even compare." Santana blushed, trying to direct the attention away from her.

"Sanny, you rock. I could listen to you sing all day. I almost forgot what I was doing when you took that Justin Timberlake solo." Britt wrapped her arms around Santana. "But now we are all hot, sweaty and sticky. I think we need to shower. I'll take my parents shower, one of you can take my brothers' and someone can take the one upstairs by my room." Santana offered to take the boy's shower, seeing the look of disgust on Quinn's face at the thought of having to take it.

While in their respective showers, each girl took the time to really think.

_I wonder what's going on between Brittany and Santana. It's like they can't be away from each other. I know Britt's my best friend as well as Santana, but something about those two just seems like more than a typical best friend. How am I supposed to bring this up without sounding like a crazy person? Maybe they both have this "new toy" fascination with each other and it'll fade away with time. Yeah I bet that's it, I'll just let it go for now. I bet if I started dating someone, they would too and things would have to calm down._

_Wow, Santana is such an amazing singer. I'll have to make sure to sit next to her in class. Maybe I can convince her to sing louder. Wait, if I do that then I won't be able to concentrate and I already have problems with that. Mmm, but it would be so worth it to listen to Santana. Just hearing her voice makes me feel warm. I don't know why I don't feel like this with anyone else. I mean I've known Quinn for as long as I can remember and I've never felt like this. Maybe this is what that God Must've Spent song NSYNC sings means. I really can't think when I'm around her. Oh well, I'm getting pruney I should probably get out._

_Ugh, what am I doing? Why does Brittany dancing have such an effect on me? Am I the only one, I mean I don't remember ever seeing Quinn as stuck on Brittany's movements as I seem to be, and she's known her for longer. Something's not right here. I feel so happy when I'm with her, like she's the one I'm supposed to have next to me at all times. I've never felt this connected with anyone in my entire life. I've had a lot of best friends, boys and girls and nothing has ever felt like this. I get so nervous around her, like I'm scared she'll disapprove of things I do. This isn't normal is it? Maybe if I ignore it things will go away, maybe if I start dating Puck I'll start feeling this strongly connected to him. I feel like I've been in the shower long enough, they might worry something's wrong. That's the last thing I'd need, Brittany coming in while I'm naked._


	4. Chapter 4

**So, thank you to my reviewers! Especially the top secret one who doesn't have a screen name apparently :) I hope you like this update. After this, things might speed up a bit. I have moments I want to happen, but time wise, things need to get a move on before that can happen :)**

The girls finished their showers just in time for dinner.

"Alright girls, tonight's gourmet meal is make your own pizza. Everything is set out on the table, pans are on the counter and the oven is already set. Britt, I think you can handle the rest." Britt's dad kissed her head and walked towards the living room.

"Wait, you aren't eating?" Santana asked quickly.

"Oh, you girls get your food, I'll just use whatever you scavengers leave behind." He winked."Britt, please don't use all the cheese this time, I'd like to at least have SOME on my pizza."

Brittany laughed while pulling her hand slowly out of the bag of shredded mozzarella.

"Damn B, he wasn't kidding, you really like to pile that on!" Santana tried taking some cheese off Brittany's pizza but was slapped before she got close.

"Um, San, I wouldn't mess with her cheese. Her brother almost lost a finger last time he tried." Quinn stood back from the two girls, taking cover on the other side of the table. Brittany growled at the reminder of that day causing Santana to take a spot next to Quinn. Once the girls' pizzas were done and devoured they decided to head back downstairs to watch more movies.

"Can we watch a scary movie? I'm kind of done with predictable chick flicks." Quinn stood, her eyes scouring the DVD collection.

"Do you guys even HAVE scary movies?"

"Um, I might have The Exorcist upstairs. I can go get my other stash and we can see. I don't really remember what I have." Brittany looked at Santana who was clutching a pillow tightly to her chest.

"I'll be right back." Brittany bounded up the stairs towards her room.

"You okay over there Santana? You look like you might pass out?" Quinn took a seat next to her, trying to pry the pillow away.

"Um, yeah." She gulped. "Yeah, I'm fine, just not really a fan of scary movies, but I'll be alright." Quinn rubbed her back.

"Yeah, Britt and I will protect you, don't worry."

"Wait, what am I doing?" Brittany lept over the couch on the other side of Brittany.

"Poor baby Santana doesn't like scary movies." Santana nudged Quinn.

"Aww, it's okay baby San, we will take care of you." Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's arm and kissed her cheek. Santana blushed, her stomach shifted when she heard Brittany say _baby_. She nudged Brittany like she did Quinn, but not as hard.

"Let's just get this started so it can be over. I'm glad I brought my iPod with me so I can have something soothing to listen to afterwards. Nightmares be dammed!" The girls laughed. Quinn hopped up, taking Brittany's DVD case and flipped through it until she found the movie. Not even twenty minutes into the movie, Santana was death gripping both girls hands.

"Loosen up gorilla grip, I might need my hands some day." Quinn tried pulling her hand out from Santana's. When that didn't work she began pinching each and every one of her fingers.

"Ouch! Shit Fabray, I get it. Clearly you're not as awesome as Britt." Brittany smiled, her eyes still glued to the screen. "Maybe if you weren't such a wuss!" Quinn smirked.

"Quinn, be nice or I'll tell San about the first time you watched Jurassic Park." Quinn's face fell instantly. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Now Brittany and Santana were both smiling. _I'll have to remember that for later._ Santana thought, her grip loosening on Brittany's a little.

"Don't worry, my hands are pretty tough. Having two little brothers helps. If you need to grip tighter, you can." Brittany whispered. By the end of the movie Santana, Brittany and Quinn were all in each other's laps. Apparently the movie was terrifying to all three.

"Uh-uh-um... We should-um. Wa-watch a b-b-better movie now." Santana shook. None of the girls moved.

"I'll just um, turn the tv on." Brittany switched off the DVD player and when she flipped to the TV a guy with a chain saw popped on the screen causing all three girls to scream.

"Turn it off, turn it off!" Quinn yelled. Brittany quickly typed in another channel.

"Thanks B." Santana and Quinn both spoke, then took in what they were now watching. "What is this show?"

"You've never seen Degrassi? It's like a teenage soap opera from Canada!" Brittany bounces excitedly.

"Riiiight." Quinn eyes her skeptically. The girls ended up watching the full episode and the one after. They had finally calmed down from the movie and the panic from that must've exhausted them.

"Okay, I'm about ready to pass out." Santana yawned stretching her legs out in front of her.

"Yeah, I'll get some blankets and pillows and we can crash down here." Brittany hopped up and over the couch.

"Do you need help?" Santana asked hopefully. Brittany smiled and nodded, grabbing Santana's hand and dragging her upstairs. When they'd returned Quinn was fast asleep in the recliner next to the couch.

"Well then, guess we know who the weak one is." Santana laughed. Brittany didn't respond. She took one of the comforters they'd brought down and threw it over Quinn.

"So..." Santana looked at the couch, then at the floor.

"The couch pulls out, but could you help me move some of this stuff first?" Santana nodded, pulling the cushions off the couch and throwing them onto the empty dance floor. Brittany moved everything else and pulled the couch out with ease, throwing the extra blankets and pillows into a big pile on the bed.

"Good Night Britt." Santana sighed, exhaustion kicking back in once the bed was sorted and they were curled up under the covers.

"Night baby Sanny." Brittany giggled then turned onto her side away from her but scooted her body closer. As if on instinct Santana's hands began running the familiar path up and down Brittany's back.

"You are so amazing." Santana whispered, but Brittany was already sleeping. Quinn however, had woken up and heard the whole exchange. 

_This is going to get interesting very quickly if I don't do something about it. New plan, I'll start dating that Finn kid on Monday. He's been eying me for days, it shouldn't be too hard, and then Santana can date the Puck kid and Brittany, well, she can date Mike. Problem solved. No more weirdness, I hope._


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright loves, here's some more for you to hopefully enjoy... Thoughts are always welcome. I love all my readers and reviewers, I love you more when you review :)**

**A/N: I own nothing but the plot of the story  
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Monday morning Brittany, Santana and Quinn were standing by Santana's locker before the bell.

"So, I think I'm going to ask Finn out."

"Why? He's weirdly tall and kind of dorky." Santana made a face just thinking about even kissing Finn.

"He's cute and really nice. Plus I think he likes me too. Besides I thought you liked Puck?" Quinn looked pointedly at Santana.

"Yeah, I guess but I doubt he even knows I exist." Santana said sadly.

"I have class with him, I can always ask!" Brittany smiled. "We can all have boyfriends then!" The bell rang before Santana could create any response and Brittany was already down the hall.

"Britt has a boyfriend?" Santana said to herself as she walked into her class.

When choir class came, Brittany jumped into her spot next to Santana, knocking her into Quinn.

"Geez Britt, hyper much?" Quinn laughed.

"I talked to Puuuuuck! He totally knows who Santana is." Santana blushed at the news. "Aww, she's blushing now! You should talk to him. He said you guys have class together later today." Quinn was nodding her head while Santana looked between her friends.

"Maybe. I'll see how it goes in class." Santana replied, shyly before their teacher demanded their attention.

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><p>Santana walked into her class and took her usual seat. Puck entered not long after and gave his friends high fives like he usually does but also put his hand up in front of Santana who happily slapped it back.<p>

"So, Santana. Do you get what we're doing in this class?"

"Um, it's a computer class. So, I think every day is different." She shrugged.

"Hey S!" Quinn sat next to her smiling, having seen Puck talking to her. "Hey Puck." Puck waved and turned towards his computer. The teacher came in and told the class they'd be working with audio files so they had to find a song they wanted to work with and download it.

"Um, how are we supposed to do that? We can't install anything on here to download music." Puck asked. The teacher smiled at his students.

"Tell NO ONE about this, but if you go to the site I have on the board you can rip the audio from youtube videos. Promise me that you will not make a habit out of this. I think they have a limit as to how many times you can do this per week anyway, but just in case. I don't want anyone getting in trouble. Also, keep the volume down on the computers I like a dance club as much as you guys but not when there are fifteen in one room." The class laughed and started on their assignment.

"So, what song are you going to pick?" Quinn leaned towards her friend.

"I haven't decided yet. There's this really cool rap song I heard the other day, but I don't know yet." Puck's computer was emitting a hard rock song that Santana had recently fell in love with. "That's a really good song." She mentioned to Puck. He looked at her with his jaw dropped.

"You know this song?" She nodded. "You are definitely getting cooler by the minute." Santana blushed and turned back to her computer, feeling Quinn nudge her.

"Ask him San. It's obvious he likes you." She whispered. Santana shook her head. "Fine. Then I'll do it. Hey Puck?" Puck turned in his seat.

"Sup?"

"Well, Santana and I were talking about getting ice cream after school. I know you're friends with Finn, so I was thinking you guys might want to come with us." Quinn smiled, batting her eyelashes.

"Yeah. That sounds good. I'll let Finn know." Santana was about to protest when the bell for the end of class rang. She watched as Puck left and grabbed Quinn's arm.

"What the hell was that? You know Britt has practice tonight! I thought we were going to go watch!"

"Calm down, I'm sure she'll be fine. We'll go get ice cream and be back before she's done okay?" Quinn pulled from Santana's grasp.

"Fine, but I'm not going to be the one to tell her!" Santana seethed.

"Yes you are, you have class with her next and I don't see her anymore today." Quinn skipped out of class before Santana could respond.

Santana sat down next to Brittany. Looking at the cracks in the table top to avoid looking at Brittany and hopefully avoid having to break the news. She felt like she'd be betraying her friend if she didn't show up to watch their practice.

"Are you okay San? Did something happen with Puck last class?" Brittany rubbed Santana's back. Santana shook her head, still focusing on the table top. "Then what's going on, you look really sad."

"I'm sorry Britt. I didn't have a choice, Quinn just opened her mouth and started talking and now I can't back out and I know I told you we'd be there but I just-"

"Baby Sanny, you need to relax and breathe." She laughed. "Tell me what you are talking about." Santana finally looked up at Brittany.

"Quinn told Puck that her and I were going to get ice cream after school and told him to invite Finn and come with us. I told her that I'd already said I'd come to your practice but she just wouldn't listen and made me tell you that we probably would have to miss most of your practice." Santana put her head down on the table.

"It's okay. Practice is going to be pretty lame anyway today, we're all just trying to get into shape and learn the routines. I'll probably end up spending most of the time helping everyone else anyway. The end of practice is when we do a run through of our routine so it's probably for the best you don't come until then anyway."

"So you aren't mad?" Santana asked, her voice muffled by the table, but Brittany understood.

"Not at all babe. Have fun! Puck likes you, I bet you two will be together really soon, especially since he's friends with Finn and I'm pretty sure Quinn already asked him out." Brittany's bubbly response eased Santana's worries, but only slightly. She didn't like the feeling she was being forcibly set up, even if she did like Puck.

By the end of the day Santana's nerves had returned, but now part of them were about the chance to spend time with Puck. She didn't want to make a fool of herself and ruin any chances.

"Hey you." Brittany leaned against the locker next to Santana's. "Ready for your ice cream date?" She giggled.

"San, Let's go!" Quinn yelled from down the hall. Santana turned to Brittany who was smiling back at her.

"Go, have fun. I'll see you later, I need to get down to the gym anyway." Brittany hugged Santana and wished her good luck before grabbing her bag and jogging past Quinn giving her a good luck as well.

"Alright Quinn, let's go. This better be worth it."

"Oh, don't worry, it'll be worth it." Quinn winked pulling her friend down the hallway and met up with Finn and Puck in the back parking lot.

The ice cream shop was only a few blocks away so their walk was fairly quick, but for Santana it seemed long. Finn and Quinn walked hand in hand in front of the other two who both had their hands in their pockets.

"So, what do you usually get?" Santana tried breaking the silence.

"Um, either one of those chocolate chip ice cream sandwich things or an Oreo blizzard type thing. What about you?"

"Mint chocolate chip anything! I'm a sucker for anything minty." Santana licked her lips at the thought which Puck found to be extremely sexy.

"Well, I'll have to remember that." After they all ordered, they found a table. Most of their conversation was about school and assignments the had coming up. Santana kept looking at her watch, knowing Brittany's practice had already started.

_Ugh, can't she just spend some time NOT thinking about Brittany. You're being very obvious Santana!_ Quinn thought.

"So, you guys are friends with Mike right?" Quinn asked, looking directly at Santana. The guys nodded. "Do you think he might be interested in Brittany?" Santana stared at her friend. What the hell is she trying to do? Since when is Quinn little miss matchmaker? Can she not stand being the only one in a relationship?

"Probably, she's hot." Finn answered, not catching the obviously bad answer he'd given in front of his new girlfriend until she smacked him. "I mean, you know. Not like you. She's not my type anyway."

"Not your type? You're like twelve how do you already have a type?" Santana asked angrily.

"Mike's my best friend. I'll see if we can't work something out. I know he dances hip hop Wednesday nights at the same place Britt does class so I'm sure they've seen each other. Don't worry, we'll get all of us hooked up in no time." Puck smirked, and put his arm around Santana. She wanted to feel weird but for some reason it felt nice to be next to him. She also liked the thought of spending time with Brittany if things worked out with her and Mike. Brittany Santana thought.

"Hey, we should probably get going. The pom team does their run down near the end of practice. I'm sure even you boys would love to see it." She smiled.

_Damn, this girl is awesome. She's hot AND she's cool with me watching girls dance. I am definitely going to try to keep this girl around. Puck thought as they all got up and walked back towards school._

"So, Santana. Um, would you want to be my girlfriend?" Puck asked as they walked towards the gym. Santana thought about it until she felt a kick at the back of her legs and saw Quinn glaring at her.

"Yeah. That'd be cool." She smiled, grabbing Puck's hand as they walked into the gym just in time for the final run through.

_Finally! Alright, one down one more to go. Brittany should be much easier than Santana. Then again I didn't think Santana would be this easy. I really must have perfected my death look over the years. I could definitely use this power to my advantage!_

_Look at her over there, she's all smug thinking she's won. I'm not stupid Q, I see what you're doing, trying to pair us all off. You're just jealous that Brittany likes me better than you now. Well, two can play this game. You're not the only one with persuasive skills. I'll let you enjoy this moment for a while. God, look at Brittany, she moves so flawlessly. She is owning this routine! I'm so proud of her! I'm so glad I convinced them to come back. Although I figured it wouldn't be too hard, girls in skirts aren't exactly a turn off for most guys._

_Damn my girlfriend is hot. Who would've thought a guy like me could get a sexy girl like Santana. Wait who am I kidding, of course I could, I'm awesome. I can't believe she liked my song in class. This girl just keeps getting better and better, and damn was she sexy when she licked her lips. I almost had to excuse myself to the bathroom. Speaking of which, these girls are seriously HOT! Maybe when MIke is done with Brittany I'll get my chance at her. I bet I can convince her to not tell Santana. This year is going to be AWESOME!_


	6. Chapter 6

**I hope I haven't kept anyone waiting too terribly long. It just got offered a job doing Motion Graphics work so I kind of got side tracked getting that started. I wanted to get something for my lovely readers because writing is just as important to me as Motion Graphics.**

**I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think. Also, I'm doing a few one-shots as well periodically so check those out too.**

**Much Love!  
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><p>As the weeks passed, Santana started spending a lot of time with Puck and was grateful for Quinn's suggestion. Puck looked like a hard ass on the outside but behind closed doors he was the sweetest guy. He would come over in his pajamas on the weekends and they would spend the day watching movies curled up on the couch together. Several times Santana would fall asleep on his chest, his arms wrapped around her. When she'd wake up he'd be smiling down at her and kiss her forehead. The only time Santana ever felt this secure was when she was hanging out with Brittany.<p>

Brittany ended up dating Mike a few days after Santana and Puck started dating. At first Santana thought she would be upset seeing her best friend with someone else, but Puck and Mike were really good friends so they actually ended up spending a lot of time together as a group. Brittany and Mike were picked to perform at a winter recital for the dance studio they attended after school. Several nights, Santana would sneak in to watch their rehearsals and marvel at the fluidity of their movements. Their graceful steps and spins, the ease with which Mike lifted Brittany in the air and spun her over his head. The first time she saw Mike throw Brittany in the air to catch her she nearly dove out of her seat to hit him, but when Brittany fell perfectly into his arms with a smile, she sat back in awe. Santana was one of the first people to buy tickets to the recital. She knew it would take some convincing to get Puck to come with her, but she figured if all else failed she could find another friend to tag along.

In this time, Quinn had begun to hang out with Finn exclusively. The only time Brittany and Santana really saw their other friend was during school. There were very rare opportunities where they'd actually hang out on weekends. Quinn was now devoting all of her time to Finn. Brittany was sad at first but Santana told her that these things happen sometimes but that she'd always be there for her no matter what. Santana made sure Brittany knew that no boy would ever come between them.

"Hey San, are you ready for Christmas break?" Brittany's smile was slightly blocked by the candy cane sticking out of her mouth. Santana unconsciously licked her lips as she watched Brittany lick some of the red peppermint residue off of her lips.

"Yeah, I'm so ready for a break from all of this. But I'm more excited for your recital tomorrow! You and Mike are going to be the hit of the night!" Santana slipped her arm through Brittany's.

"Thanks! Want a candy cane? Mr. V was handing them out during class, I stole another one when he wasn't looking, I know how much you like anything minty." Santana snatched the extra candy cane from her hands and tore off the plastic causing Brittany to laugh.

"You, are the best best friend I could ever ask for!" Santana squeezed Brittany's arm as they walked towards the gym so Brittany could go to pom practice. "Well, my dad's picking me up pretty soon so I should probably head out, but have a good practice and I'll see you tomorrow. Meet me in the lobby before your show starts?" Brittany nodded, slipping out of Santana's arm and wrapping her arms fully around her.

"See you tomorrow babe!" She spun on the balls of her feet and walked into the gym, her blonde pony tail whipping back and forth. 

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><p>"Dad, hurry up, I can't be late! Brittany said she'd wait for me in the lobby before her show!" Santana screamed from the doorway. She swore her dad was doing this on purpose just to get a rise out of her. Anytime he was in a hurry he'd get on her case, but if she was in a hurry he'd take his time. When he'd finally showed up at the door, a smirk on his face she smacked him in the arm. "Let's go old man!"<p>

Santana spent the entire ride to the venue tapping her foot anxiously and staring out the window. As soon as her father's car was in park at the doorway she quickly thanked her dad, grabbed her bag and ran towards the door. Brittany had convinced her mom to let Santana stay over after the recital so that Mr. Lopez wouldn't have to come back and wait around while Brittany and Santana talked after the recital. Plus neither girl was sure how often they'd get to see each other during break, both had family obligations during most of break, Brittany's were out of town when Santana's were in town and vice versa.

Santana turned the corner just in time to see Brittany start to walk towards the doors to the backstage area.

"Britt!" She yelled. Brittany quickly whipped around and met up with Santana. "I'm so sorry, my dad was being a jerk and taking his time, I told him you would be waiting for me!" Santana was out of breath as she tried to explain herself to a very amused looking Brittany.

"It's alright, it's not starting for another fifteen minutes anyway I was just going to go back there and check my make up quick, but I'll do that later. I'm glad you're here."

"Well, where else would I be silly?" Santana smiled, poking Brittany on the nose.

"I don't know, hanging out with Puck? I'm guessing you didn't convince him to come with you?" Santana shook her head shrugging.

"Something about dancing being super lame and boring. I even tried telling him the girls would be in leotards and tights. He asked if there would be guys in tights and make-up and when I told him probably I think that was the final deal breaker." Both girls laughed, their laughter increasing as one of the male dancers came out with no shirt, black pants and white make up circling his eyes.

"You do know they don't actually wear tights or leotards in any of our performances right?" Brittany mused.

"Well, I didn't really know, but I think he would've been super bored anyway. He's not really into the whole dance thing."

"And you are? Little miss 'I don't like to do anything that doesn't involve chasing a ball or hitting someone,' please explain this to me." Brittany took a step back, avoiding the swinging arm of her friend then twirled to the side as she dodged another attack. "You can't hit this I'm too quick for you! Now explain!" She demanded.

"I don't know, there's just something about the movement that mesmerizes me. Maybe it's because I could never do what you do. All that spinning and leaping and being thrown around. You really have to trust the person you're paired with."

"So, if I taught you some of this do you think you could trust me enough to try?" Brittany tilted her head to the side speaking softly, looking directly into Santana's eyes. She saw Santana gulp and slightly nod her head. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I trust you with my life B."

"Brittany, time to get set!" Mike poked his head through a nearby stage door.

"Good luck Britt, I can't wait to see everything." Brittany quickly hugged her friend and bounded over towards Mike.

Santana walked towards the lobby, spotting Mrs. Pierce.

"Hey Mrs. P!"

"Hello Santana, I'm assuming you'll be sitting with us?" Santana heard heavy footsteps behind her.

"Santana, you can sit by me!" Andy, Brittany's little brother stood with an excited smile on his face. He was four years younger but just as tall as Brittany. His sandy blonde hair was cut short and gelled into a spiky mess. Just like Brittany, his eyes were a light shade of blue and Santana always caught herself staring at them, marveled by their clarity.

"Hey Andy! Of course I'll sit by you." She ruffled his hair as they walked through the doors and took their seats that Andy had previously saved for them. "I'm guessing Eric didn't want to come?" Andy laughed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"No, he's staying at a friend's tonight, he's got a basketball tournament tomorrow." The lights dimmed and the hum of conversation throughout the auditorium stopped and seats creaked as people turned their focus to the heavy red and yellow curtain.

The show started with a younger dance troop. Santana spotted a little blonde girl with her hair in a messy bun who was clearly the top dancer in the group. She watched as this little girl's face lit up with every spin and jump. Santana pretended she was watching a video of Brittany at this age. She smiled as the girl's smile widened with the applause from the crowd and laughed when the little girl turned the wrong way, bumping into the girl behind her.

Santana had to admit, the following few performances were pretty boring. She leaned on her hand, fighting her eyes to stay open as she watched a group of six girls contort their bodies to some piano infused instrumental that closely resembled a lullaby. As the music faded out Santana felt someone nudge her arm, nearly knocking it off the arm rest.

"Hey." Andy leaned towards her. "You might want to wake up, Britt's about to be on." Santana quickly sat up straight, stretching out her legs as best she could without kicking the seat in front of her. She adjusted her position in the seat and cracked her neck just in time for the curtains to open.

Four silhouettes stood against a deep red spotlight, their bodies moving with the music. Santana strained her eyes trying to decipher which one was Brittany. She expected to know right away but in the dark they all looked the same. As the lights shifted from red to white, she realized why she was unable to notice Brittany. From the left of the stage a spinning body came into formation with the other girls. Without being able to see the new girl's face her heart pounded and her stomach twitched, the new addition was definitely Brittany.

Santana slid up further in her seat, her elbows resting on her knees as she held her head in her hands. Her eyes focused solely on the girl she'd come here to see. This was the routine Santana wasn't privy to seeing because they practiced when Santana was supposed to be having "family time" which only consisted of her and her parents watching TV while they all did things on their laptops, not actually paying any attention to each other.

When the performance ended, the four girls scurried off stage and Brittany pulled her hair out of her bun shaking it out before quickly pulling it up into a pony tail. The stage area was dark but Santana could see her as if all of the stage lights were pointed directly at her.

Suddenly the bass line of the next song vibrated the auditorium and Santana saw Mike backflip onto the stage while Brittany did a no-handed cartwheel. Santana leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed happily across her chest. She almost had the entire routine memorized from all of the times she'd sat watching them but every time she watched, it felt like the first. The twists and turns of Brittany's body, the way she still worried when Mike tossed her in the air. Santana was snapped out of her gaze by the thunderous applause around her, and a nudging elbow from Andy.

"One heck of a closing performance don't you think?" Andy beamed at Santana which made her feel slightly jealous. Sure she had a decent bond with her older sister, but with six years difference, there wasn't a lot of "sisterly bonding" she could do without feeling like the nagging sister she'd swore she'd never be.

"Yeah, it was the best thing I've ever seen."

"Oh, so you were watching? I couldn't tell if you were just really intrigued or very bored." Brittany's mom laughed as they followed the crowd and found an empty spot in the lobby to wait for Brittany.

"No no! I wasn't bored at all." Santana stuttered. "I mean, sure some of those first performances were a bit blah, but Brittany's performances were amazing!" Santana turned her head to hide her blush. She wasn't sure why she was blushing, but the mere feeling of it only made her feel more embarrassed and blush harder.

"So Santana, you're staying over tonight right?" Santana smiled at the change in subject, nodding at the young boy. His excitement reminded her so much of Brittany. He may be young but he was definitely going to be a heart breaker when he got older.

Andy and Santana talked about their plans for christmas break and the odds of a few of their favorite football teams actually making it through play offs. Santana couldn't talk about sports with Quinn because she'd just roll her eyes and as much as Brittany tried, she never really got the concept of football enough for them to have a serious conversation. This is why she enjoyed hanging out with Brittany, while Britt would be dancing around in her basement, Santana could talk to Andy about sports, or even watch a few games with him until Brittany convinced her to do something else.

Santana was suddenly blinded by two warm slender hands pressed against her eyes.

"Guess who?" Santana smiled, placing her hands over Brittany's.

"Hmmm..." She paused to think. "Scooby-doo? Noo, not hairy enough. Ummm..." Santana dragged her fingers across Brittany's arms, back behind her head trying to reach Brittany. Her left hand hit the side of Brittany's face and she blindly felt across her face, eliciting giggles from her friend. "Well, you're definitely human, and you feel like you're probably adorable, your laugh tells me you're probably easily amused." Brittany's knee knocked the back of Santana's.

"I am not easily amused! Hurry up and guess!" Santana could hear Brittany's pout, knowing she wouldn't be able to keep up the facade much longer.

"My guess is it's the tall blonde dancer I saw earlier on the stage. Probably the same one I call my best friend. I think her name is... Brittany?"

"Ugh, finally!" Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's shoulders and jumped onto her back, squeezing her legs against Santana's waist.

"Don't you have a bag? Where's mine?" Santana turned her head slightly to look at Brittany, her arms wrapped under Brittany's thighs even though Brittany's legs could easily keep her locked in place longer than Santana could probably hold her up.

"Andy has both of our bags. Let's go!" Santana shook her head, knowing Britt wasn't going to jump off until they reached the car. She saluted Brittany, tightened her grip on her legs and followed Andy and Mrs. Pierce towards the parking garage. "Did you like the performances?"

"Yeah, they were good. Your stuff was amazing and there was a little girl in the first performance that looks so much like you, it was adorable. She was the best dancer in her group."

"Looked like me? OH you mean Jordyn! She's way better than I was at her age. Her mom says we look a like too." Brittany's voice echoed through the parking garage. "I'm really glad you came Santana." Her voice was softer now.

"Me too B. I'm pretty sure even your brother is glad I came. He seemed pretty excited when he saw me here, and made sure I was staying with you."

"Oh god. He's so pathetic. You should've seen him before we got here, he kept asking me if you were coming. I told him you were probably brining Puck, which seemed to have shut him up for a while. I guess when you came by yourself he got excited again." Santana felt Brittany shake her head.

"Well, I'm awesome. Do you really blame him for having a crush on me?" She laughed setting Brittany down a few feet from the car.

"No." Brittany responded faintly, but not loud enough for anyone to hear.

_What is going on? Is this bad? Is something wrong with me? I know I'm dating Mike, and he's a great guy but I just feel so happy whenever I'm with Santana. She seems pretty happy with Puck and I love that our boyfriends are friends and we can all hang out. At least I can still spend time with her. I wish Quinn hadn't bailed on us. I'm so scared that Santana will want to spend more time alone with just Puck and not hang out with me anymore. I know she said that wouldn't happen but what if she does? I better make the most of tonight and tomorrow before christmas break pulls us apart and I won't see her for weeks._


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello dear readers. I would like to apologize for the wait. I've had parts of this written for a while but it never came together properly until today. I would also like to think adolt-affair for reading and reviewing each chapter in one sitting, it definitely kicked me into over drive to get this posted quicker :) and all of my other reviewers and people who have this on their favorites/alerts list. Thanks!**

** This one is a Christmas one, (a bit late but whatever) I have a New Years Eve chapter nearly finished so that should be up soon. **

**Please enjoy and please let me know what you think.  
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><p>"So, what did you get Puck for Christmas?"<p>

"Well, he's jewish so I kind of thought I'd need to get him Hanukkah presents but luckily he already told me not to worry about the whole jew thing. Either way, I haven't gotten him anything yet." Santana hung her head looking at Britt with one eye closed, her face scrunched. Brittany giggled at her expression. "It's not funny B, I'm a terrible girlfriend! What do you get a boy for presents?"

"First off, I'm sure you aren't a terrible girlfriend. Second, I haven't gotten Mike anything yet either. Boys are impossible!"

"RIGHT? I mean, I've had yours for over a month. Then I added more. Easy!" Brittany was bouncing in her sat from the mention of presents.

"Did you bring it? Is it in your bag? What is it, or what are they? Can I have them?" Britt reached for the bag.

"Whoa there killer. I may have brought your present but if you look before I give it to you, I'm taking it all back! Also, you don't get yours unless I get mine."

"Oh, she's had yours done and wrapped for forever!" Andy laughed from the front seat, receiving a slap on his head from his sister who's face was now bright red.

"Oh she has, has she?" Santana smirked, turning her attention to her friend who was hiding behind her hands. "Do tell me more dear Andy." Santana started to lean forward in her seat but was pushed back by a strong arm.

"Andy if you breathe one word about it I will tell Santana all about what I saw the other day in your room." Andy froze in his seat.

"What about Andy's room honey? Is it a mess again?" Brittany's mom asked. Andy groaned.

"It's nothing mom just something between siblings." Brittany's mom shook her head.

"Sometimes I worry about you kids and what you're not telling me." Mrs. Pierce eyed her kids suspiciously.

"Mom you were in my room earlier today throwing my laundry on my bed, I'm pretty sure you would have seen something so just don't worry about it." Santana could sense a slight tension in the car.

"Okay so, maybe we should go shopping for boyfriend presents." Santana suggested.

"Oh that's a great idea Santana. I was just saying earlier that I still had a few more gifts to buy, we should all go tomorrow, I'll see if Eric wants to come too!" Brittany was the one to groan now.

"Think about it this way, if your brothers come then we have two boys who can give us ideas for what to get Mike and Puck. Then we can shove them into the arcade or some sporting goods store and do our own shopping without them." Santana kept her voice down so her plan wouldn't be heard and potentially rejected by Mrs. Pierce.

"Fine, but we are getting the guys' gifts first so I don't have to spend all day with Andy drooling all over you and Eric just being his normal annoying self."

"Deal."

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><p>When they arrived at the Pierce residence Andy carried the bags inside the house and set them down just inside the living room.<p>

"Andy, think you could take the bags downstairs?" Brittany yelled from the garage.

"He's such a handy little twerp isn't he?" Santana joked, walking in behind Mrs. Pierce.

"Don't take advantage of it Santana, I don't need my boy to get any wrong ideas, you got me?" Mrs. Pierce narrowed her eyes, her finger inches away from Santana's face.

"Yes Mrs. P, I know."

"Geez mom. We're going to go downstairs before you make Santana afraid to come over anymore." Her mom waved them off as they headed for the stairs, passing Andy on the way. "We're claiming the TV down here Andy so don't come down unless you are going to be quiet and not fawn all over my friend here, got it?" Brittany mimicked her mother's actions. Santana fought hard against the giggle in her throat but couldn't keep it in very long once Brittany wiggled her finger at her brother.

"Come on B, I think he'll be fine." Santana pulled her friend down the stairs. "Besides, don't you want your presents?" Brittany jumped from the steps and ran towards the couch, sliding across the wooden floor.

"Come on Santana, it's Christmas present time!" Brittany was sitting cross-legged on one end of the couch, a medium sized box resting at her side.

"I'm guessing that one is mine?" Santana eyed the package, grabbed her bag and pulled out a few boxes that were wrapped and ribboned together.

"OooOOOoo, I'm so excited! Here open mine first!" Santana sits opposite Brittany and slides the box towards her. "Don't mind the card, you can read it later." Santana sets the card aside and slips her fingers through the paper material, then pulls up the flaps of the cardboard box and yanks out the tissue paper.

"Man, I always forget how much unwrapping is involved in getting a gift!" Santana laughs, but when she looks at Brittany she stops. Brittany's hands are nervously fidgeting in her lap, her teeth gnawing at her bottom lip and her eyebrows knit together. "Are you okay?" Brittany nods quickly, her eyes shifting up to Santana's then back towards the box, her hands flicking out to get Santana to continue.

Underneath the tissue paper is a book with a popsicle stick frame on the front holding a picture of the two of them.

"Open it." Brittany's voice is barely above a whisper. When she opens it Santana sees a few poems that she's written are printed on colored paper. There are several different colored pages all bound by yarn.

"Did- Did you-?"

"Yeah, I made it. You write such beautiful things and no one ever knows about them but they should and now you have a book to put them in some how. You don't have to keep the picture in there if you don't want, I just thought since I'm giving it to you." Santana grabs Brittany's fidgeting hands.

"Stop rambling B. I love it. Thank you so much!" Santana leans over and wraps her arms around Brittany. She takes a deep breath and smiles as she smells Brittany's unique scent of shampoo and perfume.

"I'm glad you like it." Brittany leans back, a bright smile on her face as she eyes the gifts that are meant for her.

"Ah yes, never could forget your own gifts for long could you." Santana teased handing the gifts over to Brittany who tore the first one open, tossing the card to the side first. "Be careful B, the small box is kind of fragile."

Brittany's eyes lit up as she pulled a small glass ornament out of the box.

"A Wizard of Oz ornament? This is so cute!" Brittany's fingers traced across the four characters (and Toto) that adorned the ornament, her smile was soft.

"You realize there are more right?" Santana laughed, not wanting to spoil the moment but anxious for Brittany to open the rest of her gifts. Brittany set the ornament back into the box and set it aside to grab the next box. She pulled out a pair of blue fingerless gloves with a mitten flap. The flap was a yellow color, and when flipped over her fingers, Brittany's hand looked like a duck. She squealed in excitement as she moved her hands and quacked in Santana's face.

"Okay Donald Duck there's one more, it's nothing as cool as the other two but still needs to be opened." Brittany ripped the paper from the thin square object.

_**Britt's Epic Dance Mix made Special by Me**_ was written on a disc inside the thin jewel case.

"You made me a mix?" Brittany giggled.

"Well, I mean it's not a 'boyfriend mix tape,'" Santana scoffed, "but I figured you'd want some awesome music to dance to and my sister's iTunes has a lot of really bad ass music so..." Santana shrugged.

"This is great! I can't wait to try it out! Think we can do it now!"

"YOU can do whatever you want, I'm quite content watching you."

"But I thought you said I could teach you some moves, that you trusted me." Brittany pouted.

"Maybe another day okay? I'm pretty wiped out. I promise you though, I will let you teach me something." Santana stretched her legs out and into Brittany's lap, her arms reaching over her head. "Can we watch a movie though? I'm not ready to go to bed."

"Yes. I think Andy and I were watching Looney Tunes 1001 Rabbit Tales earlier, that okay?" Brittany reached for the remote.

"Sounds perfect, I love that movie! I can move if you want to sit or stretch out."

"No it's cool, you stretch, I stretched last time." Santana got comfortable, stretching out properly over Brittany's legs.

The movie began and within twenty minutes Brittany could hear light snores coming from Santana. She laughed, rolling her eyes at the easiness of her friends slumber. Her eyes noticed the unopened card she'd received from Santana. Trying her best to not move too much she grabbed it from the table.

_**Jingle bells Jingle bells Jingle all the way**_

_**Oh what fun it is to give a Christmas card today.**_

Inside the card Brittany noticed a lengthy hand written note.

_**Merry Christmas Britt, You have no idea how thankful I am to have met you and have you as my best friend. You really are an amazing person, an incredible dancer and the bestest friend I could ever ask for. I'll never be able to properly show you just how much I appreciate everything you have done for me so far. You are my best friend and I hope you know that I will ALWAYS be here for you. I hope you like your gifts and that you have a great Christmas.**_

_**Love you B, Always Always, **_

_**Santana (Baby Sanny)**_

A heart is drawn around the words _**Always Always**_. Brittany smiles, putting the card down on the table and grabs the DVD remote to turn their movie off.

"San, wake up." Brittany lightly shakes her legs. "Come on babe, let's go up to my room." Santana still doesn't move. Brittany decides to take matters into her own hands and slides out from under Santana's legs. She kneels down beside the couch, pulling her friend into a sitting position and puts Santana's arms around her shoulders as she lifts Santana's legs and carries her like a toddler up the stairs, grabbing Santana's bag on the way. As she walks towards her bedroom she sees both of her brothers are still up watching a movie.

"Hey guys basement is all yours. Good night." Brittany lays Santana down on the bed.

"Britt?" Santana's voice is groggy as she rubs her eyes and yawns.

"You couldn't have woken up BEFORE I carried you upstairs?" Brittany laughed. "Your bag is right there if you want to put pajamas on." Brittany is already half way changed as she watches Santana fumble through her bag. Throwing on a tank top, she helps Santana get her things out of the bag.

Some how, Santana manages to change her clothes without moving too much. When she's done changing her head falls back against the pillow and she rolls over to face Brittany.

"Thank you. Presents. Bed. Carrying me. So nice!" Brittany laughs to herself at Santana's disconnected sentences, watching her friend roll back over on her other side.

"Good night S." Brittany reaches out and rubs Santana's back.

"Mmm, night night B."

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><p>"What about this? Boys like getting clothes right?" Santana holds up a shirt off the rack in American Eagle. They've been in a few stores already and nothing is getting their attention. Then again, they've also been getting distracted with things they'd like to have.<p>

"It's a cool shirt but I don't think Puck would ever wear it." Brittany pulls out a button down shirt, turning it towards Santana.

"Britt, Mike already has that shirt. I remember because you said it made his eyes look really cool."

"Oh yeah, the magic eye shirt! Maybe we should just get them pajamas. I mean you've said Puck comes over in his jammies sometimes and secretly I like to steal Mike's pajama pants so maybe I can give him some to have of his very own that I will promise not to steal."

"That's actually not a bad idea. Wait-" Santana looks around the store, "Where are your brothers?"

"Oh, they got sick of us being indecisive so they left. We'll be alright now that we've decided what we're getting them. Come on, I don't see anything fun here and Abercrombie is just a few shops down, I know Mike usually gets his stuff from there." Santana and Brittany start to exit the store when something catches Santana's eye.

"Britt wait. Did you get Quinn anything?" Santana pulls an orange and yellow scarf off the rack. "Do you think she'd like this? I know her favorite color is orange, and she doesn't have a scarf for the winter."

"That's a great idea! Yeah, I got her a book and some really cool make up. I'm supposed to exchange with her in a few days." Brittany walks towards the registers with Santana.

"Her and I haven't even talked about doing presents. What if she didn't get me anything?" Santana looks worried.

"She did, I went with her to get it. Maybe you can meet up with us to exchange gifts." Brittany smiles.

"B, you know after today I'm pretty busy with family stuff, I probably won't even see either of you until new years eve. Do you think I could just give you her gift and you do the trade off for us?" Brittany sighs at the reminder of their time away but sucks it up and nods.

After Santana and Brittany make their purchases in Abercrombie they find Mrs. Pierce walking around Pottery Barn looking at decorations.

"You girls all set?"

"Yeah, once we decided to get them pajamas it was actually pretty easy, in and out. Where's Andy and Eric?"

"Food court probably, I saw them coming out of F.Y.E. earlier. I said I'd meet them in the food court around one." Mrs. Pierce looks at her watch. "Five minutes to one! I impress even myself at my accuracy. Let's get lunch!"

During lunch the group decides they've had enough shopping and should probably head back, dropping Santana off on the way.

"I'll call you later B. Thank you again so much for the book, you're the best!" Santana hugs her friend tight as she gets out of the car. "Thanks for everything Mrs. P. Later boys!" Santana waves, walking towards her house, watching as they pull out of the drive way.

_Well, that was an eventful 24 hours. I seriously have the greatest best friend in the world. This could quite possibly be the best present I've ever received, it's so fucking thoughtful! I feel like such a chump for what I got her. Oh wow an ornament, some gloves and a stupid CD, gee Santana, be more lame!_

Santana's pocket buzzes as she walks into her house.

**Britt-Britt: **I forgot to say thank you for coming to my show and staying over and coming shopping with me. But especially for the presents, they're perfect! I will put my ducky gloves to good use, plan a dance for us with the CD and take extra special care of the ornament. You're amazing.

_Well, apparently I'm not as lame as I thought. Oh, I don't think I ever read her card!_

Santana walked into her room, pulling the card from her bag.

The cover had a picture of a penguin in a santa hat. Inside was just Brittany's hand writing.

_**Merry Christmas Santa-na, haha get it? I wanted to get you a funny card but this penguin was just too cute to pass up. I'm really glad Quinn introduced us and we became best friends. I can't imagine having a friend better than you. You're such an amazing person and I can't wait for everything else we'll be doing in the future. You're my bestest friend ever and I feel like our friendship is only going to get better. Thank you for everything you've done for me, I appreciate it more than you could imagine.**_

_**Love you muchos babes, **_

_**Britt**_

Santana stared at the card a moment longer, re-reading the words to make sure she absorbed it all.

_Yep, this girl is definitely better than anyone I've ever met._

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><p><strong>Alright, reviews are always welcome. Hope you liked hte slightly delayed Christmas chapter. I apologize again for the wait, and the NYE one should be up in the next couple of days.<strong>_  
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	8. Chapter 8

**Hey there readers. I know you're out there, I see the stats :) I said I'd get the NYE chapter up soon and it's a bit later than I'd planned but my schedule got all jacked up. Here it is though, hope you like it. I had some issues with the beginning but hopefully it all works out.**

**Review, please, I like to know what you think, what works and what doesn't so I can give you a better story. Thanks.**

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><p><strong>New Year's Eve<strong>

Puck parents let him have a New Year's party as long as they behaved themselves since they would be at a friend's place all night for their own party. Brittany and Santana arrived together and immediately spotted Quinn. They talked about their Christmas and what presents their parents got them, Santana and Quinn thanked each other for their gifts again, even though they'd already texted it. Santana was about to see what Quinn was doing before school came back, hoping maybe they could all hang out.

"Hey baby!" Quinn squealed jumping into Finn's arms as he walked through the door.

"Aaaand we've lost her." Santana sighed, watching as the couple walked further into the room to join the party.

"Come on San, let's go see what everyone else is doing. Forget them." Brittany smiled, grabbed Santana's hand and dragged her into the open area were other people started congregating, grabbing drinks on their way.

Some of the guys were playing video games while some girls were dancing around to music that was playing from the iPod dock on the other side of the room.

Santana was seated in a recliner chair just watching everyone laughing at her classmates crazy dance moves on one side and the yelling of the boys on the other side. She smiled when she saw Brittany walking towards her.

On instinct Santana set her soda on the table next to the chair just before Brittany took a seat on her legs. Santana never suggested the spot and Brittany never asked, it was always assumed. Santana would adjust accordingly and once Brittany was comfortably seated she would wrap her arms around Brittany's waist.

"Having fun B?"

"Yeah, it's really cool of Puck's parents to let us hang out here. I'm staying at your place tonight still right?"

"Yeah, if you still want to." Santana nodded against Brittany's side.

"Yeah. I just wasn't sure if you were going to stay here with Puck or something."

"No no, I'm not about to give him any ideas and my parents sure as hell wouldn't allow it." She paused for a moment. "Why, did you want to go to Mike's instead? I'd understand you know, he IS your boyfriend."

"Oh, no that's not at all what I was trying to say. Mike has to go somewhere with his family tomorrow anyway so I don't even think he's staying until midnight." Brittany's voice dropped at the end and Santana could tell she was upset she wouldn't get a new years kiss from her boyfriend.

"Bummer B. Who knows maybe he'll end up staying and then leave right after." Brittany shrugged, her eyes focused on her feet dangling above Santana's. "Well, don't worry, either way next year is going to be epic, with or without ringing it in with a kiss."

"Says the girl who's boyfriend is anxiously waiting to plant one on her at twelve o'clock." Brittany laughed, nudging her friend in the stomach.

"Well whatever, maybe I won't allow it. If you don't get love then neither will he. But let's not worry about that right now. You should go dance with the others."

"Will you come dance with me?"

"Um Britt, you know I'd much rather sing the songs than dance to them. You're the smooth moves I'm just the rockstar voice."

"Yeah, rockstar voice that no one ever hears!" Brittany giggled, hopping off Santana's legs and spinning around to face her. "Alright well, you'll be alright here? The Quinn Finn lovefest on the couch over there isn't grossing you out or anything?" Santana turned her head. She honestly hadn't even noticed the two but now that she saw it she wanted to gag. Sure they were a cute couple but they were just SO coupley it was disturbing.

"Um, yeah maybe I'll go see what the guys are doing. I'm pretty sure if I hear a moan come from Finn's mouth I might hurl. I love Quinn dearly and I'm happy she has him, but this relationship is just creeping me out." Brittany nodded before one of the girls came to pull her into the "dance area" while Santana turned towards the group of guys.

"Hey babe! Come to see your boy dominate this game?"

"Um, you're playing Mario Kart? With all the yelling I was expecting Madden or Call of Duty or something." Santana arched her eyebrow.

"Yeah we were earlier but then Dusty here bet that he could beat me in every cup tournament so now we're kind of creating our own tournament." Santana looked at the other boy who was staring intently at the screen. She'd heard Puck talk about him before. They were on the basketball team together or something but she'd never bothered to really find out who he was.

"Well, good luck!" She kissed Puck's cheek then turned to Dusty. "I hope you kick his ass." She laughed.

"Hey!"

"What, you have a big head, it'd be nice to have someone other than me knock you down every now and then. I know Mike certainly can't and Finny boy is too wrapped up in Quinn's face to even care."

"She's got a point Puck." Mike said, jumping back to avoid the onslaught of Puck's fist. Puck adjusted his focus back to the game as it started back up again.

"So Mike, you're leaving early?" Santana turned to face him.

"Yeah, my uncle is having a football party and it's a couple hours away so we have to leave pretty early. I feel really bad too, I really wanted to get my New Year's kiss from Brittay. She seemed really upset when I told her I would be leaving before midnight."

"I'll take care of her Mikey don't worry. I won't let my best friend be sad."

"Thanks Santana."

"So are you going to make sure I'm not sad too?" Puck asked.

"Well, don't get your ass handed to you by this kid and you'll find out." Mike high-fived Santana as she got up to walk away.

"So not fair." Puck mumbled watching his girlfriend walk towards her best friend. "I'm pretty sure your girlfriend gets more attention from my girlfriend than I do."

"Well, you ARE playing video games instead of spending time with her, what do you expect?" Mike reasoned.

"Yeah but you're over here and Britt is dancing with the other girls. Doesn't that bother you?"

"No. I'm not the one becoming some horn dog all of a sudden. It's a good thing Santana doesn't know the things you talk about or she'd probably kick your ass."

"Um guys, as thrilling as this girlfriend gossip session is, I'm pretty sure we are in the middle of a tournament here." Dusty said pausing the game. "So, MISS Puckerman, if you are done whining about your lady problems can I finish kicking your ass now? I'm not much for winning by default because you were distracted by your lack of balls!"

Puck shoved his friend and un-paused the game hoping to get an advantage.

A few more hours passed, it was nearing 11 o'clock which was when Mike's parents said they'd be picking him up. Mike and Brittany were sitting on the floor in front of the TV where everyone was watching the New Years Eve special. Mike had his back against the couch while Britt sat between his legs. Santana and Puck were laying on the couch and Finn and Quinn had just left to go back to Finn's place with some lame excuse about Finn not feeling well. The others were strewn about in chairs and on the floor.

Mike's phone buzzed in his pocket and Brittany whined, tightening her grip on Mike's hands.

"I'm sorry babe. You know how my parents are, I really have to go." Brittany turned to face him, her lip jutted out. Mike just leaned in and kissed her on the cheek first then on the lips once she'd stopped pouting. "Happy early New Year babe. I'll call you tomorrow I promise." Brittany leaned up so he could slide out from behind her. "Take care of her." He said to Santana who smiled and nodded, giving him the thumbs up. "See you guys later, sorry I had to leave." Everyone said their goodbyes and Brittany jumped up quickly to give him another hug and kiss before he walked out the door.

When she returned to the living room Santana was already on the floor leaning against the couch. Puck was sitting up more but still taking up the entire couch, his arms folded across his chest. Brittany looked at Santana who just patted the seat next to her.

When Brittany sat, she linked her arm through Santana's, smiling at her friend and directed her attention back to the TV where Beyonce was performing.

"One day you'll be up there dancing in Times Square for all to see." Santana whispered.

"Only if you're the one singing." Brittany smiled. Santana smiled back, trying to repress the tingles in her stomach and nervousness that claimed her beating heart.

"Relax silly, we're still young, you'll come out of your singing shell eventually, and if not I'm sure you'll still be doing something amazing." Brittany noticed the nervousness in her best friend's features, but assumed it was about her obvious stage fright.

"Yeah, who knows really. But I do believe that you'll be on a stage somewhere dancing for everyone and they'll be mesmerized just like I was at your show a few weeks ago."

The clock in the corner of the screen started ticking down the seconds as the ball lit up and started to move down the pole.

10... Puck shifted in his seat.

9... Santana gripped her friend's arm.

8... Brittany bounced excitedly.

7... Santana pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her other arm around them.

6... Puck slid off the couch.

5... He put his arm around Santana.

4... Brittany turned to smile at her friend, frowning slightly at seeing Puck on the other side.

3... Santana gulped, now sandwiched between her two most important people.

2... Puck leaned closer, his hand resting on Santana's knee.

1... Santana turned towards Brittany

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Santana leaned to kiss Brittany on the cheek at the same time Brittany turned to do the same, their lips catching the corners of the other's mouth. Santana quickly turned to place a kiss on Puck's awaiting lips, glad that he didn't notice the delay, or the fact that she'd nearly kissed her best friend's lips.

"Happy New year baby!" Puck whispered into her ear, kissing her on the cheek again as he pulled away. Santana only smiled and nodded in return.

"Happy New Year Baby San!" Santana's head nearly exploded from the whisper in her other ear. Her boyfriend in one ear and her best friend in the other, but only one of them really effected her, and it wasn't the one who should have.

"Happy New Year Britt-Britt!" Santana's voice was shaky and she knew it. She needed to get out of the situation, and fast. Santana quickly sprung up on her feet and quickly made her way towards the bathroom.

_What the hell just happened? Stupid head, you turned the wrong way. When I said I would take care of Britt for Mike I didn't mean like THAT! It's a good thing my own boyfriend is kind of an idiot or I'd probably be single right now. Not a good way to start a new year. I really just need to clear my head. We didn't actually kiss, we both just wanted to kiss the other's cheek, not a big deal right? It wouldn't be the first time. But it's definitely the first time we've tried it at the SAME time. Suck it up Lopez, she's your best friend, it's only natural to want to make sure she's happy, and Puck is none the wiser so just get back out there and pretend like everything is okay. You can figure this out tomorrow after Brittany goes home. OH shit, Britt is staying over tonight, how am I supposed to- NO, ignore it dammit, you got this!_

Santana stood up straight looking herself over in the mirror to make sure she didn't look as though she'd just had a mild panic attack.

Puck watched as his girlfriend ran from the room, he hadn't completely missed the interaction between the other girls and was trying pretty hard to distract his mind.

_She was just making sure Brittany didn't feel alone. She's a good friend, there's nothing more than that. But what if there is? What if I lose my girlfriend to another girl? That's about as bad as just LOSING to a girl. Although I'd much rather lose IT to a girl and not a guy. Maybe that's what I need to do. Step up my game, get Santana to take our relationship up another level. I've been behaving myself pretty well so far, it's about time we turn up the heat. _

Puck nodded to himself, having made his decision. Now he just needed to figure out how to finesse his girlfriend into being okay with the idea.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello lovely readers. Here is the next chapter for you to enjoy. I'm starting to speed things up a little bit so hopefully you'll keep up.**

**Let me know what you think.**

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><p>When school started back up Brittany was waiting anxiously at a table in the cafeteria for Santana. They hadn't really talked about the new year's kiss. When Santana had returned from the bathroom she blamed her abrupt departure on an upset stomach from too much soda. Brittany believed her, having had the same problems herself when she'd downed three mountain dews in the span of 30 minutes one night after Eric forced her to watch a scary movie with him and she was too afraid to sleep. It seemed to the girls that Puck believed the story when he wrapped his arms around Santana, kissing her cheek and saying he hoped she'd feel better soon.<p>

The girls left soon after that and ended up passing out as soon as they'd gotten back to Santana's house and when they woke up Brittany's mom had called to say she was on her way already because she was in town and didn't want to create anymore hassle for anyone, so they're time got cut short.

In the days off, Brittany's mom kept her busy cleaning the house and dragging her around town returning gifts they had gotten from relatives. The girls barely had any chance to talk to each other. Brittany did, however, have a lengthy conversation with Quinn that she was dying to fill Santana in on.

"Hey blondie!" Brittany spun around at the familiar voice.

"SAN! You're finally here!" Brittany wrapped her arms around a startled girl who's arms were trapped between their bodies. Santana's hand could barely move but was still able to swat at Brittany's leg enough to get the girl's attention and step back.

"Nice to see you too B! How was the rest of your break?"

"Lame mostly, but oh my gosh I have some serious news. This like makes up for all the boring things I had to do. I mean it's some really really really REALLY crazy information." Brittany's words were speeding up as her excitement built. She began bouncing on her toes, her hands pushing on Santana's shoulders which only made her bounce more.

"You want to spit it out or am I supposed to wait all day and get bits and pieces through out class?"

"Quinn did stuff with Finn."

"What do you mean did stuff? We're only in junior high, what kind of _stuff_ is there to do?"

"She like, gave his hands a job or something. Apparently it's a big deal to guys." Santana looked at her for a moment, trying to process the jumbled information. When it all clicked, her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes bugging out of her head.

"Quinn gave Finn a hand job? Gross! We're like thirteen! I'm pretty sure my sister wasn't doing that when she was our age. She should've waited until like, next year or even freshman year." Santana looked up hoping to see Brittany agreeing with her, but only saw a look of confusion. "Britt, you do know what she did right?"

"Um, yes?" As much as she tried to sound convincing, Santana saw right through it. Santana looked around her to make sure no one was in ear shot before leaning in and whispering an explanation to Brittany.

"GROSS!" Brittany slapped her hands over her mouth after her out burst. Ducking her head down to hide her burning cheeks. "Why would someone want to do that?"

"It's what girls do when they're dating someone. I was always told it happens when you're older and that girls who do stuff early are usually sluts."

"You mean like that Shanna girl who everyone says has had sex with the freshman guys? They say she's a slut." Brittany whispered.

"Well, technically yeah. But, I wouldn't really classify Quinn as that. She's way better than that girl and doesn't really look like that kind of girl."

"Well maybe that's the only thing Q will do. It's okay if she only does that right?" Brittany now looked worried for her friend. She didn't want Quinn to be called a slut. She was scared that might really upset Quinn and then maybe Quinn would stop talking to them even more than she already had.

The five-minute bell rang signaling the end of the conversation.

"See you later B. Don't tell anyone else what you told me though okay?" Brittany nodded as they split down the hallways.

* * *

><p>"Well well well, Britts told me all about your little moment with Finny." Santana whispered as she walked past Quinn to take her seat.<p>

"I figured she'd tell you. It's not a big deal, I mean we ARE dating."

"Yeah, and so are Puck and I but you don't see me getting all handsy with him. Or Britt with Mike either." Santana paused, smirking at a thought she'd had. "You know... keep this up and that phone spinning game we played may actually come true for you. I know Britt wasn't the first to get kissed, you were. But, you are still in the game for sex first. Maybe all of those options should've been on you."

"Whatever. At least I know how to please my boyfriend. I saw Puck earlier and he was complaining to one of the older guys about how he hasn't gotten anything even under the shirt from you."

"Oh Quinny, I love you but you are pushing it. We are thirteen, I'm not about to jump on the bandwagon that some of these other girls are. It's not happening!"

"Well, unlike those girls, I'm pretty sure I have serious feelings for Finn." Santana choked, her head snapping towards Quinn.

"Are you serious? You love him?" Quinn shrugged.

"Maybe." Santana wanted to keep talking but her choking earlier grabbed the attention of the teacher who was now looking disapprovingly at her.

"We'll finish this later." She whispered, turning her attention back to whatever they were supposed to be learning.

* * *

><p>"Hey, you're early!" Brittany jumped into her seat in the choir room, the chair effectively sliding across the floor, colliding into Santana's.<p>

"Hey, you're hyper!" Santana joked. "Where's Quinn?" Santana had been waiting anxiously for Quinn to arrive so she could apologize for their earlier conversation.

She never meant turn on the attitude but she felt like Quinn was pressuring her and Santana Lopez does NOT respond well when pressured.

"She went home last hour." Santana let out a heavy sigh, her eyes focusing on her bouncing legs. "Are you okay?"

Santana cleared her throat, looking back at Brittany.

"Yeah, I'm good. I said some things to Quinn earlier and I kind of wanted to apologize for it."

"Santana..." Santana could tell Brittany was disappointed.

"I know I know. She was pissing me off and making it seem like I'm a bad girlfriend for NOT doing that with Puck already. I just- I don't want to, it's creepy." Santana shuddered at the thought, she may have seemed like a badass to others but in reality she was just as afraid as everyone else. She didn't want to give guys the wrong impression, and she didn't want to do anything too early and regret it later. She hated having regrets, ever since she quit dancing when she was four because she was too shy to dance in front of the parents. She knew she wasn't ready to have that kind of relationship yet, and she was going to stick to her guns.

"Don't worry, you aren't a bad girlfriend. I don't want to do that with Mike either. I like making out with him too much to get distracted doing anything else. It'll be okay baby Sanny, don't worry." Brittany reached out to rub her friend's back. "Besides if anyone really gave you any troubles I'll kick their butts. Being a dancer gives me pretty strong legs, I think I could take 'em." Santana laughed.

Trying to imagine Brittany physically injuring _anyone _created a very amusing image in her mind. She pictured the person being angry, and throwing blind punches while Brittany twirled and leapt around them, evading all of their attacks before landing one good kick to their side or back and effectively knocking them out.

The rest of class was spent like the rest. The teacher would drone on about something music related, then pass out the music for whatever song they were supposed to be singing. Brittany and Santana would make up their own hand gestures for certain parts in the song and get caught laughing instead of singing. They expected the teacher to one day kick them out entirely, but she seemed to like them enough to just give them a stern look and shake her head.

The rest of the day Santana spent trying to figure out how to apologize to Quinn.

* * *

><p>"Hey Q, you busy?" Santana lay on her bed, her blue cordless phone resting on the pillow next to her ear.<p>

"No, why, calling to give me more shit for my decision?" Quinn snapped.

"No, actually." Santana took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and keep her rising attitude in check. "I was calling because I realized I was kind of harsh earlier and you didn't deserve it. What you do with the jolly pasty giant is your business. If you love him or whatever, then I'm happy for you."

"Yes, your lovely dig at my boyfriend really proves your happiness. Look, I don't want to get into this. This is a petty fight, you're one of my best friends. I know I haven't been around a lot but I still love both you and Britt. I'm just doing what feels right. Think you can be okay with that?"

"Yeah. It's whatever, love you too Q. We really need to hang out again though, B and I miss you."

"I miss you too. I gotta go though. See you later S." Santana hung up, closing her eyes. She thought about calling Puck to see if he wanted to hang out. Instead she called Britt and ended up helping her work through her homework until they both were nearly falling asleep on the phone.

* * *

><p>As the weeks past, Quinn made more of an effort to hang out with her friends. She had finally figured out how to balance her friends and her boyfriend. They went to see a few movies, Brittany taught them a few dance moves and they seemed to be getting back to the tight friendship they used to have.<p>

Valentine's day was coming up fast, which also meant the Valentine's day dance was coming too.

"Hey, you excited for the dance next friday?" Another mediocre week down and just one more until the dance. Santana was sitting between Brittany's legs as she put her hair into two french braids. Her dad was giving Brittany a ride home. Brittany's brother Eric had a traveling basketball game over the weekend so her mom would be taking him and her dad wouldn't be able to pick her up. Santana tried to convince her parents to let Britt stay over or to stay at Brittany's but neither of their parents were allowing it.

"Yeah, I can't wait to dance circles around you while you sing along! Want me to do your hair like this again? I can come over after school and we can get ready. Then I bet we can have a sleepover!" Brittany wrapped a hair tie around the last braid and wrapped her arms around Santana's shoulders.

"Sure, maybe Quinn will come too." Santana shrugged, trying hard to ignore the small tingles coursing through her body. It became even harder to ignore when Brittany kissed her cheek before she slid out from behind her to grab her back pack.

Monday came faster than Santana wanted. Brittany found her at their usual table, her head resting on her arm.

"Wake up sunshine!" Brittany slid in next to Santana, frowning when the girl didn't budge or even remotely acknowledge her presence. "What's wrong?"

"Boys suck. I hate Quinn. I just want to go back to when things were easier." Santana stuck a finger out for each item as she spoke into the crook of her arm.

"Explain. And don't say you hate Quinn, it's not nice."

Santana sat up, checking to make sure no one else was around before she explained herself. Her mind going back to the Saturday afternoon she'd spent with Puck.

_Santana and Puck were laying on the couch in Santana's basement, her left leg resting on top of his legs as he lay on his back. Her hand resting on his chest as they kissed. His hands held her tightly to him, one on her back the other in her hair. Santana was lost in the moment, loving the feeling of his warm body pressed to hers, the unique smell of his laundry detergent and cologne. She could pinpoint that scent combination anywhere. It wasn't bad, it was exactly Puck. Nothing would ever remind her of him like that does. She felt like she could be in this moment forever, lips crashing against each other. It was perfect, no need to mess it up with anything more intimate._

_Puck grabbed her hand that was resting on his chest, running his hand up her arm, then back down. He grabbed the hand again, lifting it up slightly and sliding it down until Santana felt a small lump beneath her palm. Her hand snapped back to his chest. She tried to ignore the forced gesture but when he grabbed her hand again and she felt it move back she pushed herself off of him, ignoring the pain when she fell to the floor._

_"Um, what are you doing?" She looked at him, wide eyed._

_"Oh come on babe, it's not a big deal. Your buddy Quinn does it. I bet even Britt's given MIke a little squeeze a time or two." Puck ran his hand through his hair, sitting up now._

_"No she hasn't. Britt wouldn't do that. Just because Quinn is doesn't mean Britt and I are like that. Are you just upset because Finn's gotten more action than you? Is this some kind of dumb guy competition thing? Can't you just keep it to video games and stupid football bets?"_

_"Forget it. I'm not doing this anymore. I'm leaving." Puck got to his feet, grabbing his jacket from a nearby chair._

_"Puck, it's the middle of winter, how do you expect to get home?" Santana stood to face him._

_"You're going to get your dad to give me a ride home or I'll tell the other guys what a prude you are. Or better yet I'll tell them you'd rather mess around with your best GIRL friend than your boyfriend."_

_"I'll get my dad to give you a ride home just because I'm sick of your stupid face. I know you wouldn't dare say anything about me because no matter how you spin it, it makes YOU look bad. I'm also going to ignore the fact that you have no idea what you're talking about and just have some bruised ego because I won't mess around with that little thing." Santana's smug grin only pissed Puck off more as he stormed from the room and took the stairs two at a time. She could hear him whisper "bitch" under his breath but let it go._

"So, needless to say, Puck and I broke up." Brittany sat, jaw dropped. Her face burning red with anger that Puck would try to make Santana do something, even more so that he brought her into it.

Santana of course left out the last bit about Brittany. She wasn't sure how she'd react and didn't want to make the situation any worse for herself.

"I'm so sorry sweetie. Don't mind him, he's just a stupid boy. We're still young, there's plenty of time and plenty of boys. In the mean time you still have me. I love you baby Sanny." Brittany lowered her head to look into Santana's eyes. "Never forget that," she winked. "Promise?" Brittany stuck out her pinky.

"Promise B." Santana laughed at the childish gesture but linked her pinky anyway.

From across the cafeteria Quinn watched the whole interaction. She'd heard about the break-up from Finn as soon as she walked into school.

_Just great. Just when I think things are going to be better, this happens. I guess I'll just have to see how this plays out. At least Brittany is still with Mike, that should be enough for now. Maybe at the Valentine's dance we can find Santana someone new. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for other boys._

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><p><strong>I have the next chapter outlined, things are about to get interesting for Brittany and Santana. If anyone wants to see something specific, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Again, thanks for reading.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello lovely readers, here's the Valentine's day dance. The chapter leading up to the whole purpose for me writing this, which you'll see when I get that section written and posted hopefully in a few days. Review so I know if I still have people interested. Thanks & much love!  
><strong>

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><p>The week passed by like every other. Now, Friday afternoon, hours before the dance was supposed to begin, the clock ticked slowly as Britt and Santana sat in their final class of the day. Brittany's leg was tapping out a beat on the floor, Santana's mind coming up with random lyrics to match the beat.<p>

The bell finally rang and Brittany slid out quickly from her seat skipping ahead of Santana.

* * *

><p>Brittany and Santana are sitting in Santana's room getting ready. They decided to dress similar in red tank tops and overalls. They knew how hot the gym would get with all of those people standing and dancing around. Brittany put her hair in loose curls and pulled the sides up into clips. She decided to do Santana's hair in partial french braid pigtails.<p>

"This is going to be fun!" Brittany dances around Santana's room. Santana rolls her eyes which Brittany catches in the mirror. "We'll have fun San. I'll make sure of it. We'll dance and sing until we can barely move and they'll have to carry us out."

"Yeah, dead tired by 10pm when the dance ends? Sounds like a thrilling Friday night!" Santana responds, rolling her eyes again.

"Please try to have a good time. I know Puck is a dick and you'd probably rather stay home, watch movies and eat pizza." Santana nods, smiling that her friend knows her so well. "But what fun would that be? We can go to the dance, have fun and show him that you don't need him. If he wants to be an idiot and lose you then we'll show him you're better off." Brittany nodded, crossing her arms decidedly.

"You're right." Santana grabbed her jacket from off her bed. "Let's shove it in his face! I think I recall you saying something about dancing circles around me while I sing." Santana winked, walking past Brittany who closely followed as Santana yelled to her father they were ready to go.

* * *

><p>Brittany and Santana tossed their jackets on the cafeteria table that had been set out.<p>

"Let's find Quinn." Brittany pulled Santana towards the gym, finding her standing around with a few other girls they knew.

"Hey Quinn!" Brittany hugged her friend and waved to the others, some she knew from the dance team.

"Hey girls, you both look cute! All matchy!" Quinn laughed.

"Yeah, I thought it'd be fun. We were going to put hearts on our cheeks but San said using a red permanent marker would have been a bad idea." Brittany shrugged.

"Well, she's probably right sweetie."

"Thank you! I was not about to walk around with a heart on my face all weekend!" Santana smirked at Brittany, knowing she'd ultimately won the argument. She looked at Quinn and saw a different kind of smirk, suddenly regretting opening her mouth.

"We could however use a red pen. The girls and I were just talking about doing that and Emily has a pen in her jacket." Brittany clapped with excitement, her face lit up as she looked at Santana.

"Fine but let's do it quickly, I came to dance, not draw."

After all the girls were properly "tattooed" they went back to the gym. True to her word, Brittany started to dance around while Santana just watched, smiling as she sang along. Brittany was in mid spin when two arms wrapped around her, lifting her off the ground.

"Ah, Mike! Put me down!" She giggled, feeling his lips graze her cheek. Santana turned her attention elsewhere. She wanted to think it was because of her recent break up with Puck and that seeing those two so happy had affected her but something inside of her told her that wasn't the complete reason.

Santana turned when her ears picked up on an annoying laugh from a few feet away. Puck had his arms around a blonde girl as they walked out of the gym.

"Well, glad to see he's moved on," she mumbles. Brittany loops an arm around hers, pulling her closer.

"Forget him. His loss." Mike says, over Brittany's shoulder.

"Yeah, if I were him I'd never let you go." Brittany whispers, "but I'd also never force you to do anything you didn't want to do."

"Riiiight. This heart on my face proves that." Santana laughs.

"Well, you didn't HAVE to do that. You just can't resist these blue eyes and this stellar smile!" Brittany smiles, batting her lashes.

"Well, regardless, thanks. Both of you." She looks at Mike who just nods in response.

"No more sadness, let's dance!" Mike slides out, putting his hands out for both girls. Santana has to admit Mike's a nice guy. He treats Brittany exactly how she should be treated and doesn't push her into doing anything. He's nothing like Puck.

* * *

><p>"Mmmm, baby you're nothing like the prude I used to date." Santana's ears burn as Puck and the girl walk past her. She swears Puck walked in her direction on purpose. Her breath quickens, her hands fisted at her sides, nails digging into her palms. She rolls her neck from side to side, hoping to release some of the tension.<p>

Britt stops her dancing when she see's Santana's head tilting, she knows this gesture, Santana is about to go off.

"Mike, we need to get her out of here. Now!" Mike spins around and sees Santana's face is hard, eyes narrowed in Puck's direction.

"Quinn, come help Britt for a second, I need to have a word with my _friend_." Mike yells over the music. Quinn and Brittany pull Santana backwards. She doesn't fight them but she doesn't turn around, or avert her eyes at all until they are well out of the gym. Brittany kneels in front of Santana as Quinn forces her to sit down.

"What happened?" Brittany runs her hands up and down Santana's legs, trying to catch Santana's eyes.

"Stupid Puck and his stupid mouth and that stupid girl. I hope he gets a disease. What's so wrong with wanting to maintain some of my innocence?" Brittany and Quinn try to hold back their laughter.

"Innocence? The things you do, or don't do, with guys is about the ONLY innocent thing about you. You're snarky sarcasm is pretty vicious." Quinn laughs, patting Santana on the back.

"I gotta keep it real." Santana shrugs, "and whatever Q, it's your fucking fault I'm in this mess. If you hadn't gotten all handsy with the giant's tiny beanstalk I'd still have a boyfriend!" Santana's breath is speeding up again. Brittany leans forward wrapping her arm around Santana, rubbing her back.

"Think of it this way, at least you know what kind of guy he is before something worse happened. You're better off without him anyway. It's just a junior high relationship. They don't actually mean much." Brittany reasons.

"You have a boyfriend Britt who's amazing. How can you say that?" Quinn questions, her eyebrows raised.

"Sure he's nice, a good kisser, and a great dancer but that's it. In a few years we'll be in high school and the other junior high will be with us so there will be plenty more people. Who knows what will happen then." Brittany shrugs as if it's common sense.

"Boys are stupid anyway. Way too easy to get them to do what they want. I may not be the brightest, but even I know it's pretty pathetic what they'll do for a girl if she bats her lashes the right way or just smiles at him." Santana bursts out laughing then. Her best friend has never made more sense than right now.

"Yeah, forget boys for tonight!" She exclaims, standing up, her hand in the air ready to march back inside.

"Uh, babe, that might be a bad idea." Brittany points over her shoulder.

Mike and Puck are being ushered out of the gym by two teachers.

"You two, out now." The teachers shove the boys in different directions towards the doorways. Brittany runs over to Mike, his cheek slightly bruised.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Mike nods, wincing when Brittany's fingers graze over the bruise.

"Just a friendly chat that got out of hand. It's fine. Is Santana alright now?"

"Yeah dude, I'm good. You didn't have to do that though. I don't want you getting into trouble just because he's a dick." Santana steps up to Mike's other side.

"Eh, no big. He was talking smack about me too so it was well deserved. Not every guy is looking to get action already. Most guys are still trying to figure out how to _talk _to girls much less get them to_ do _anything. Just um... don't tell anyone I said that." He laughs a little. Brittany and Santana lean up to kiss his cheeks.

"Thank you again."

"You're an awesome boyfriend."

Mike's ego swells at the show of affection from both girls.

_Well, Puck may get some downstairs action but right now I bet he'd give anything to have these to hanging on him, kissing his cheek and looking at him like he's the best thing on the planet. I know I'm certainly enjoying it. Brittany is a great girl, and right now that's all I want. Why mess up something that's so great. Besides, we're still young, I'm not stupid enough to think this is a forever relationship._

Quinn finds Finn standing around awkwardly near Puck.

"Hey cutie." Quinn leans up to kiss Finn quick before any teacher's notice.

"Hey babe. Things got pretty ridiculous in there. I'm glad you weren't in there to see it." Finn wraps his arms around her, pulling her tight against his body.

"Aww, are you okay? Did you get into it too? I only saw Puck and Mike get pulled out." Quinn inspects his face for any contusions.

"Nah I'm good babe, don't worry."

_You've got to be fucking kidding me! Finn's pansy ass does nothing and he's getting love from his girlfriend, Mike over there is getting attention from TWO of the hottest girls in this place and here I am all alone? This shit is bogus! Girls are supposed to like badasses! Maybe I'm just ahead of my time, maybe I need to find older girls who can appreciate me more. Puck wasn't meant to date in his own pond. Wait, that sounds really gay. I'm not going to date in this pond of tadpoles when I can get myself into a ocean of sharks! Yeah, sharks are badass!_

Luckily, the dance was nearing the end and parents were already lining up in the driveway and parking lot. Santana stuck her head out of the doors and noticed her dad's car was just pulling in.

"Britt, my dad's here. You ready? Mike do you need a ride?" Brittany ran to the tables to get their coats.

"No, my dad should be here pretty soon if he's not already. Thanks though."

"Well, it's the least I can do. I hope you don't get in too much trouble for that bruise on your face."

"No worries, I can play it off that I was dancing and just got knocked by Finn and his terrible dancing." They laughed, Santana having to lean into Mike to keep from falling over.

"Ready S?" Santana nodded, still not able to speak through her laughter. "Bye Mike, I'll call you tomorrow or something." Brittany leaned up to kiss him then grabbed Santana's arm and walked out of the doors.

* * *

><p>Santana fell onto her bed, Brittany following soon after.<p>

"Well, that was... interesting," she sighed, turning her head towards Brittany.

"It's okay to be upset you know. I would be."

"I just- I don't get it! What was the point in him shoving that in my face? Like really! Just because I'm not a whore doesn't mean I'm a fucking prude. Now what am I supposed to do?" Santana sat up, her hands running through her hair, pulling slightly.

"Hey, hey, don't do that. You'll go bald. You don't want to pull out all of that beautiful hair." Brittany grabbed her hands gently pulling them from her hair and into her lap. The touch, while gentle, felt like a ton of bricks fell onto Santana's chest. Her heart ripped open, tears poured down her face as Brittany pulled her in. Santana curled up on the bed, her head resting on Brittany's legs while Brittany ran her fingers through her hair whispering words of comfort so light they were almost inaudible. Santana heard each and every one.

"You deserve better. There are plenty fish for your hook and plenty of time to go fishing!" Santana snorted out a small laugh amidst her tears. "Everything will be okay baby Sanny. I'll never leave you or treat you bad, promise. You'll always have me." Brittany beamed down at her, hoping her smile could shine some rays of hope into Santana.

"Always always?" Santana sniffled.

"Pinky promise." Brittany linked her finger with Santana's. She could feel Santana's breathing starting to even out, her sniffles quieter and more spaced out. "You okay now babe?" Brittany leaned forward to check Santana's face.

"Yeah, I'm good but can I just lay here a little while longer?" Brittany nodded, knowing Santana would figure out her gesture. Moments past with silence, Brittany still running her fingers through dark locks. "Britt?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry if I got Mike in trouble. I didn't mean for him to get involved. If he's grounded or something and you can't see him I'm really sorry. I'm glad he stood up for me though He's a good guy."

"Yeah, he's cool like that. It's okay if I don't see him. I'd rather spend time with my best friend anyway. She needs me more than he does." Brittany messed Santana's hair playfully with one hand, her other tickling her side.

"Aaahhh Britt! Stop! This isn't fair, I wasn't ready!" Santana's laugh echoed through her room.

"Honey, are you okay in there?" Santana's mom peeked her head through the doorway, slightly shocked at seeing her daughter's head in the lap of her best _girl _friend. She let it go to playfulness between friends, tried ignoring the small urge to comment on it.

"Yeah we're fine, your daughter is just being a brat that's all." Brittany giggled, pausing her assault for a moment.

"Well, I'm headed to bed so, keep it down a little okay? We'll see you girls in the morning. Pancakes or French toast?"

"FRENCH TOAST!" Both girls yelled, falling into another fit of hysterics.

"You girls are weird. Good night." Her mom shook her head as she walked back down the hallway.

"Night Mom."

"Night Mrs. L!"

Santana sat up next to Brittany, stretching which caused both girls to yawn.

"Sleep?" Santana asked in the middle of another yawn. Brittany nodded, sliding off the bed to grab her back and search for her pajamas.

_This has been one hell of a night. My ex starts talking smack and gets my best friend's boyfriend caught up in a fight. Then my best friend tries to make me feel better when we get home and suddenly my chest constricts and these weird feelings start to fester. What the hell is going on!_

Santana slips into bed, waiting for Brittany.

_I really hope Santana is okay. I hated seeing her upset like that. Stupid boys and their need to be macho. One of these days Puck is going to get himself into some serious issues and I won't care at all. Carmel is a bitch they say. Which doesn't make sense because I like carmel. Maybe it's not carmel. I'll have to ask Santana later. Not right now though, way too tired to think anymore. Santana is currently in a good mood that's all that matters right now. That and sleep._

"Good night San."

"Night Britt Britt."

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><p><strong>Well, hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter Santana's mom isn't going to be able to hold her tongue and it's going to throw Santana's mind into quite a jumble so Stay Tuned.<br>**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello lovely readers. Sorry this took so long, the events that occur in this story are the exact reason why I wanted to write it. This being a personal experience, it was a lot harder to make sure I could get YOU all to really see/feel what was happening. Please review so I know if I did a decent enough job haha. Thanks to lizbean and adolt-affair for reading this before I posted it. :)  
><strong>

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><p><strong>MARCH<strong>

Brittany wakes Friday morning and jumps from her bed. Her feet nearly stepping on Lord Tubbington in her excitement to make sure she's ready for the annual Chicago trip with Santana and her parents. _I can't believe she asked me to go with her! The first time she ever gets to bring anyone and she chose me!_

"Oops sorry Tubbs!" She leans down and scoops him into her arms, ignoring the low mewl of annoyance. "You better behave while I'm gone this weekend." She holds him out so she can look him straight in the eyes. "I better not find anything hidden under the bed like when we had to go to Aunt Lani's house and I came back to find a thong under a box of cigars hidden in the back of my closet." She gives him one last stern look before placing him back on a pile of clothes. Lord Tubbington simply shifts his position and falls back to sleep.

"Britt, you ready to go?" Mr. Pierce peeks his head through the doorway.

"Yep Yep! I have my bag by the door already and I took a bath last night so I'm ready ready ready!" Brittany spins around her room towards her father.

"You better relax a little bit or the Lopez's will never take you on a weekend trip to Chicago again!" He laughs, pulling her into his arms. "Be safe and let us know when you get there." Brittany rolls her eyes playfully at the standard 'worried parent' speech. "But most importantly, have fun and don't forget to buy me something!" He nudges her.

"I will dad, don't worry. Maybe I can get you a tie that has the skyline on it or something cool like that!" Brittany's dad smiles, kissing her forehead before stepping out into the hall. He laughs when she slides past him in her stocking feet down the hall, nearly knocking him into a few pictures hanging behind him.

* * *

><p>"Hey Britt-Britt! Excited?" Santana grabs Brittany's bag and tosses it into the trunk of her parents' car.<p>

"SO excited! I nearly crushed Lord Tubbington this morning getting out of bed!"

"Well, _that_ would be a shame." Santana muses.

"I'm really glad my parents let me skip school today to go with you and your parents. I've never been to Chicago!" Brittany bounces slightly where she stands next to Santana watching their dads talk briefly about the trip. Santana smiles and loops her arm with Brittany's hoping to calm her down a little before the long drive.

"Ooookay girls, hop in we have quite the drive ahead of us!" Brittany slides in all the way to the other side so Santana can just hop in next to her.

"Hi Mrs. Lopez! Thank you for letting me come with you this weekend." Brittany smiles brightly at the woman in the front seat. Mrs. Lopez turns, smiling over her travel mug as she takes a sip.

"No problem Brittany. We're glad you could come. Santana here needs someone to hang out with while I am in meetings and this one," she jerks her thumb towards her husband, "as fun as he is, can be quite the handful on his own." Mr. Lopez feigns hurt from his wife's statement which causes the girls to giggle in the backseat.

"I'm a fun guy. Last year Santana and I were perfectly fine going to ESPN Zone and playing arcade games while you and Jamie shopped all afternoon."

"Speaking of, where is your sister? I feel like I haven't seen her in ages!" Brittany adjusts the seat belt so she can turn to fully face Santana.

"She's been with her boyfriend most of the time and out with friends enjoying her senior year in High School. She has some concert to go to tomorrow with a bunch of her friends so that's why you get to come along!" Brittany beams at her friend, happy that Jamie's absence has greatly benefited her weekend.

"That makes sense. I'm sure when we are seniors in High School we'll be busy all of the time doing something equally as awesome!"

"Britt, we're going to run that school! We'll be so busy we won't even know what to do with ourselves!" Santana smiles confidently.

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><p>The drive to Chicago is long and is only made longer by the flat scenery. Without the tall stalks of corn in the fields, it's a boring scene to watch pass by. Everything starts to look the same and eventually wears the girls out. Brittany turns in her seat and rests her head on Santana's lap. Without a second thought Santana is combing her fingers through soft blonde hair, lightly scratching her nails against Brittany's scalp. A soft smile graces both of their lips.<p>

"Um girls, what's going on back there?" Mrs. Lopez turns around in her seat, noticing the smiles and the interaction of the girls.

"Well, Britt's tired from the long ride..." Santana looks at her mother confused, her hands never leaving Brittany's hair. _What's her deal? Pretty sure her eyes work and she's turned in her seat enough to CLEARLY see what I'm doing. Didn't realize being quiet and trying to sleep was a bad idea. Is my peacefulness too loud?_

"That's inappropriate behavior. Should I change your middle name to _Lez_-lie? Or perhaps we can change our last name to LoLEZ or Lezpez." Her mother laughs thinking she's made the best joke of the day.

Santana is used to the condescending tone from her mother. Growing up she constantly felt judged for the things she did or more so, WANTED to do. In fourth grade, she wanted a boy haircut and begged until her parents caved. After having to wear a dress for her first communion she told them she wasn't going to wear a dress when she got married, she would wear a tux. When they got home from the ceremony, she put on a baseball hat and played basketball with her cousin, while still wearing the dress. There are pictures to prove it.

"Mom, Jamie makes me rub _her_ head on car rides and you never said anything about that." Santana tries to reason with her mother, her hand has stopped moving but is still resting on Brittany's head. It's one thing to make snarky comments to her, but to bring Brittany into this is something entirely different. Still, it nags at Santana, she's not a lesbian. She _just_ had a boyfriend! Clearly her mother doesn't know what she's talking about.

"Sweetie, that's your sister. I'm pretty sure everyone in this car knows that Jamie basks in being a spoiled brat. Brittany is..."

"My best friend, who at this point is far better than my sister. At least Brittany doesn't treat me like a damn servant around other people! Jamie has let her friends make fun of me since the first grade! She's a spoiled brat alright because she's a bitch!"

"Santana that is no way to talk about your sister, and watch your mouth!" Her mother scolds, wagging a finger inches in front of Santana's nose. Santana fights the urge to roll her eyes but feels Brittany move underneath her fingers.

"It's okay San, I can just lean against the window. I'm sure we're almost there anyway I saw a sign for Chicago not too far back." Brittany whispers, sitting back up, resting her head against the window and closing her eyes again.

_I don't know what is going on, but it doesn't seem good. As many times as I've heard Mrs. Lopez say things about Santana, I've never seen her this hurt. No matter how hard she tries to hide it, I can see the pain in her eyes. Why would she want to change their name though? Lezpez is kind of cool I guess, it makes me think of Pez dispenser candy. It fits Santana too. Super sweet on the inside but if you aren't careful she'll snap and pinch your fingers. I just wish she didn't look so sad. I'll have to think of something to make her feel better._

Mrs. Lopez turns back around, satisfied with herself as she opens her book back up and continues reading. Santana looks to her dad, who doesn't seem to be paying any attention to the tension in the car.

Santana leans her head against the window, mirroring Brittany's earlier actions. She was still trying to not let her mother's words get to her. She'd built up enough walls to keep comments like this from getting under her skin. Looking over, she saw Brittany's eyes staring blankly out of the window. Her heart nearly broke. In that moment, Santana decided to completely ignore her mother. This was her best friend, they weren't gay!

_Just because she makes me happy whenever I'm around her doesn't mean I want to do stuff with her. We're in junior high, we're just trying to figure everything out before High School swallows us whole. Brittany is my best friend and I'll be dammed if anyone ever says anything to hurt her. Even if that person is my own mother. I'm not gay, neither is Britt. _

_Forget her, I'm on vacation dammit and I'm going to have fun. She'll never know since she'll be in meetings all day. Britt, dad and I are going to tear this city apart!_

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><p>When they arrive at the hotel, Brittany is bouncing all over the place. The girls race down the hall to their room, laughing and slightly out of breath still when Mr. Lopez arrives to open the door. The girls simultaneously flop onto the bed, their feet hanging off the end.<p>

"Lazy." Mr. Lopez laughs.

"Whatever. It was a long drive!" Santana quips.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize YOU were driving. Wow, here I thought you were one of the goofs in the backseat. My mistake miss!" He bows to her, waving his hands in front of him as if she's some kind of royalty.

"Smart ass." She mumbles.

"Anyway, where shall we go first? Shopping at Water Tower or stroll along Michigan Avenue?" Mrs. Lopez claps her hands, her eyes sparkling with childlike excitement at the thought of shopping in her favorite city.

"Michigan avenue. This way Britt will know where she wants to go when we're walking around tomorrow with Dad." Santana sits up, slapping Britt's legs so she sits up as well. She pretends not to notice that Brittany's shirt slid up a little when they fell onto the bed and her hands twitch to find out if the skin is as soft as it looked.

"Well alright then. Grab your coats, it'll probably get chilly down there. They don't call this the windy city for nothing!" Mr. Lopez throws his jacket on and makes sure to place the hotel key in his wallet.

"Well, let me just use the bathroom first and then we can go." Santana watches as her mom disappears into the bathroom.

"Don't worry about her girls." Mr. Lopez whispers. "She's just crabby because she'll be stuck in stuffy meetings all weekend and won't have much time to add to her shoe collection." He winks, smiling just as his wife emerges from the bathroom.

"Ready to go sweetie?" Brittany and Santana manage to contain their laughter enough for Mrs. Lopez to exit the room unaware. "Let's go girls. Let the adventure begin!"

Santana and Brittany were unaware just how significant that last bit was going to mean to them after this day.

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><p><strong>Again, sorry this took so long.<strong> **I'm going to try to get on some kind of schedule so I don't leave you hanging so much.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I hope this update is timely enough for my readers. Being a beta to another story seems to have kicked my writing bone into gear :) Let me know what you think...**

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><p>Mr. Lopez wasn't wrong when he said it would be chilly walking around. Even with her coat on, hood up and her arms crossed over her chest, Santana was still shivering.<p>

"Cold?" Santana pouted amidst her shaking, trying to nod even though it only made her look like she was just shaking harder. "Aww baby Sanny." Brittany stands closer to her while they wait to cross the street, rubbing her hands up and down Santana's arms.

"Thanks Britty." Santana leans her head against Brittany's shoulders, already warming up significantly.

"I'm not going to get into trouble for this am I? Your mom isn't going to spazz out again right?" Brittany whispers as they walk across the street, dodging the on coming foot traffic.

"Whatever. Ignore her Britt, she doesn't know what she's talking about." Santana loops her arm with Brittany's as they scope out the shops that they will want to go into tomorrow.

"Ooo Virgin Records! We need to go there tomorrow! They have an Apple store right? I want to play with the ipods and computers and stuff."

"Yeah B, it's actually down here a little farther, just past NikeTown." Santana squeezes Brittany's arm tight.

"Wait, Nike has a town?" Santana can't contain her laughter.

"It's just three floors of Nike stuff Britt, but it's a fun store. We'll go there too, I always go there even though I generally never buy anything." Brittany claps her hands excitedly, pulling at Santana's arm in the process.

"Oh it's just so beautiful out here isn't it girls? The lights on the trees and just the city life." Mrs. Lopez takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and smiles. "I'm just so glad we're here." No one really responds to her, no one has to, she wouldn't hear them anyway in her blissful bubble.

"Your mom is so confusing. She was scary in the car and now she just seems like, REALLY happy."

"Yeah, how do you think I got most of the clothes that I have? We come here every year and without fail my sister and I can pretty much get whatever we want. My mom loves this place so much it's like she's high or something. Jamie and I take full advantage of it." Santana smiles at the memory of the multitude of bags they end up with whenever her mom gets a break to shop with them.

As much as Santana hates shopping, she likes when she gets new things to show off at school when they get home.

"I thought you hated shopping." Brittany tilts her head in confusion.

"I hate shopping with Jamie. She tries on so many different things and just takes SO long only to get like, two shirts and MAYBE a pair of pants. It's ridiculously time consuming." Santana rolls her eyes as Brittany giggles. "It's not funny, it's annoying!"

"Aww, no patience. I'll have to remind myself not to lollygag while I try things on." Santana has to shake her head when images of Brittany in a dressing room start to form in her mind.

"Would you want to go to ESPN Zone too? It's like a big sports arcade." Santana tries to change the topic, distract herself with games and sports. She's heard thinking of baseball tends to help guys from getting too worked up, hopefully it'll work for her too.

"Oooo yeah yeah!" Brittany slips out of Santana's arm and jumps excitedly next to her, knocking a few passerbys who turn and scowl.

"You girls hungry yet?" Mr. Lopez yells over his shoulder. Santana looks to Brittany who just shrugs in response.

"We can eat whenever." She replies back, her dad nodding as he turns to relay the message to his wife.

They walk a few blocks more, making mental notes of the stores they want to check out before Mr. and Mrs. Lopez turn and lead them into an italian restaurant on a side street.

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><p>During dinner they plan out their days in town, and try to find times they can meet up with Mrs. Lopez to have lunch and where they'll go for dinner. Santana suggests Ed Debevic's so Brittany can experience the hilarious sarcastic waitstaff and Mrs. Lopez suggests the Cheesecake Factory, her mouth watering at the mere thought of cheesecake. Brittany just smiles and nods, happy to be a part of this trip and get to spend more time with her best friend.<p>

After dinner they take the long walk back to their hotel room, ready to just curl up in bed and watch whichever movie grabs their attention in the pay-per-view menu.

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><p>Mrs. Lopez finds a romantic comedy about a guy who has a crush on his best friend's sister but then falls in love with his best friend's girlfriend instead. It's all very routine and confusing but it's mindless enough that they enjoy the distraction. Brittany and Santana slip under the covers, not because they're cold but they're just used to watching movies together cuddled up under blankets.<p>

Santana however, keeps a bit of distance from Brittany, her mother only being a few feet away on the other bed. She jumps when she feels Brittany's fingers lightly rubbing her side. Her eyes dart to her parents who are focused on the TV screen and she's glad her dad sleeps on the side closest to her, he may be useful as a barrier.

"I thought you said not to worry about her." Brittany whispers.

"I know I did, but I just don't want to push my limits." Her smile is weak, but it's enough to let Brittany know that it'll be okay. "You can keep doing that though... if you want." She turns her head back to the screen.

_God damn her fingers feel good and all they're doing is brushing against me. What am I supposed to do about this? It's clear my mom thinks something is going on and she doesn't approve of it. I'm not a lesbian, am I? I dated Puck! Britt's dating Mike, I think. Although I haven't seen him around lately which is weird._

"Hey B?" Santana nudges her leg under the blanket.

"Yeah babe?" Brittany doesn't turn her focus off the screen, giggling at something on the screen. Santana almost loses her thoughts at the sound.

"What's going on with Mike?" Brittany's eyebrows scrunch together.

"Oh, yeah. I was so excited with Chicago and all of that I forgot to tell you." Brittany laughs again, Santana wasn't sure if it was towards her or the movie. She'd stopped paying attention to the movie the moment Brittany's fingers touched her.

"Tell me what?"

"We broke up." Brittany shrugs.

"Wait, What!" Santana turns to fully face Brittany. She keeps her voice down so as not to create any extra attention to them. Her hand next to Brittany's, which fell when she turned.

"Yeah. We talked last night and decided we would be better off as friends. He's a great guy but we just weren't in it anymore I guess. We haven't really been hanging out much lately and it didn't really bother either of us. We're still going to be friends. I mean, we have to, dance class and all."

"Wow. I'd say I'm sorry but you seem to be okay with it. I can't believe you didn't tell me though."

"I'm fine with it. He's just a boy. There will be plenty more people for me to date, we're still young. I'm sorry I didn't tell you though, like I said, this trip was way more exciting than some silly break up." Brittany slides her hand over Santana's, her thumb tracing over the top.

"Well then, looks like we are partying up the single boat! Welcome aboard!" Santana settles back in the bed, pulling the covers up a little further but not moving her hand from underneath Brittany's. Instead she turns her hand and laces their fingers together.

_Have I mentioned how glad I am to be here with Santana? Holding her hand just feels... right. Like it shouldn't be a big deal if I wanted to do that when we're walking around. I mean, when I was little my mom always told me I had to hold her hand before I crossed the street, and there are a LOT of streets to cross walking around down there. Plus, a lot of people and what if I got lost because I wasn't hanging on to Santana? Didn't McCauley Culkin get lost in Chicago in one of the Home Alone movies? Wait, no, he got LOST in New York, but he was home alone in Chicago. That's really confusing. _

"Brittany?" Santana squeezed Brittany's hand. She'd been trying to get her attention for the better part of ten minutes all the while watching Brittany's face twist in thought."

"Yeah?" Brittany turned to face her friend, smiling innocently, her mind cleared of her previous thoughts.

"Um... the movie has been done for like fifteen minutes. I was wondering if you wanted to get ready for bed first or..." Brittany looked past Santana and noticed her parents were already under the covers lightly snoring, the lights in the hotel room were off and some syndicated sitcom was playing on the television.

"You can go. I gotta figure out where my toothbrush is anyway." Brittany smiles, sliding off the bed to dig through her bag.

Santana grabs her bag and takes it into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth.

_So Britt is single. Well, that's... I don't know, good? No no no what am I thinking? Why should it matter to me? She's my best friend. Nothing more. Sure she's adorable AND beautiful all wrapped into one amazing dancer body. Dammit Lopez, shut up! I mean, holding her hand was fine. It didn't seem weird at all, and walking down Michigan avenue tonight was fine with our arms linked. At least I knew I wouldn't lose her in the crowd that way. Gosh I don't know what I'd do if she got lost. I'd probably have to check a toy store like Home Alone. No wait, that was New York wasn't it?_

_*Knock Knock*_

"San? You dressed? Can I come in and brush my teeth?" Santana opens the door to Brittany already in her pajamas.

"How'd you get dressed already?"

"I stood by the door, the wall blocks the view from your parents so I wouldn't risk them waking up and seeing me." Brittany walks in and starts brushing her teeth.

"What if I walked out?" Santana asks after spitting out the toothpaste.

"Its nuffin' you hafen seen befo." Brittany says, trying to keep the toothpaste in her mouth. Santana can only shake her head as she rinses her mouth out and wipes it on the hand towel before walking out of the bathroom.

When Brittany crawls back to bed, after hitting her foot on Santana's suitcase and tripping over her shoes, she tries her best to keep her laughter under control. Santana watches, amused at how a girl so limber and graceful on stage can be such a klutz some times.

"You okay B? Do I need to get you night vision goggles or something?" Even in the dark Santana can see Brittany's eyes light up. "I was joking."

"Awww, that's not fair!" Brittany pouts, sliding in next to Santana. Both girls are laying on their sides facing each other. "San, can I ask you something?"

"You should know the answer to that."

"What's so bad about being gay? Like, why was your mom so weird earlier?"

"Because she's a bitch."

"San..." Brittany pushes lightly on her arm.

"I don't know Britt. Girls aren't supposed to like other girls. It's just not normal I guess." Santana sighs.

"But Quinn says _our_ friendship isn't normal, so does that mean it's bad too?" Brittany absentmindedly drags her fingers along Santana's arm. Santana's heart melts at Brittany's words.

"No B, it's not bad. Honestly, I think Quinn is just jealous that _our_ friendship is closer than it is with her. Can we just sleep though? I'd rather just forget about what happened earlier today. Cool?" Brittany nods and watches Santana turn over to her other side. It's silent for a moment and Brittany thinks Santana has already fallen asleep until she sees Santana's back wiggle and sees Santana's hand pat her back.

"You are such a brat." She whispers, reaching out to traces letters on the back of Santana's t-shirt until she hears Santana's breath deepen and slow. Even though Mrs. Lopez is snoring, she's somehow able to zone in on Santana and hear only her breathing. In this peaceful Santana bubble, Brittany easily falls asleep.

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><p><strong>I hope you approve<strong>. **Next chapter will be shopping and fun times with B/S and Mr. Lopez.** **Stay Tuned... Also, read: We're Just Getting Started** (A Future Unholy Trinity fic that I beta... trust me it's worth it)


	13. Chapter 13

**Dear people who review: I love you and appreciate you taking the time to tell me what you think. YOU are the reason this story is still going. Many times I've considered just calling it quits, but your reviews have kept me writing. To the 95% of you that read and DON'T review? Why? lol I'd really like to know what you think about this... SO enough of that nonsense you came here to read the story, not my rambling.**

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><p>Santana wakes up first, her eyes slowly opening to see a note on the bedside table.<p>

_Mornin' girls! Call me when you're up. I'll be walking around or sitting in the lobby. _

_- Dad_

Santana knows the morning routine. Her parents get up, get ready and before her mom goes to meetings they grab breakfast. When Santana finally gets up she lets her dad know and he brings up Starbucks for her. Every year is the same and she wouldn't change a single second of it.

"Britt." Santana rolls over, pushing on her friend's shoulder. "Wake up sleepy head." She pushes a few more times before she hears Brittany groan and bury her face in the pillow, shaking her head back and forth.

"What time is it?" Brittany rolls over, yawning as she rubs the sleep from her eyes.

"Time to get up. I'm going to call my dad to bring us breakfast. I usually just get orange juice and a blueberry muffin or a bagel. Do you want anything, he goes to Starbucks."

"Mmmm, O.J. and a bagel aaanddd a banana." Santana laughs, Brittany still hasn't opened her eyes but she's smiling, her arms thrown over her head.

"Okay, well I'll call him quick and then hop in the shower, when I'm out you can get in. I'll tell him to give us like twenty-five minutes, sound good?" Brittany nods, pulling the covers over her. "Oh, no you are NOT going back to sleep. I'll drag you into the shower with me, fully clothed if you don't get your ass up."

"Is that a promise or a threat?" Santana's laughter stops abruptly. "I'm kidding, geez calm down crazy!" Brittany sits up stretching her hands out in front of her and wiggling her toes. "Go call your dad Spazztana and take a shower, maybe you'll calm down." She smirks when Santana sticks her tongue out at her as she picks up the hotel phone to call her dad.

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><p>Brittany is just finishing her hair when Mr. Lopez knocks on the door. She jumps out of the bathroom to open and hold the door for him, he is after all, delivering breakfast.<p>

"Hey Mr. L!" She smiles and heads back to the bathroom to unplug the hair dryer and straightener. "San did you need the straightener, I just unplugged it." Brittany walks to the table, swipes a juice cup, sticks the straw in and takes a hearty gulp.

"Not unless you're doing it for me. I'll just put it up. Thanks though." Santana greets her dad and dives into the bag, pulling out her muffin.

"Geez San. Savage much?" Brittany giggles, never having seen her friend this excited for a baked good.

"You have no idea, this thing is DELICIOUS!" Crumbs fall from Santana's mouth as she talks. Brittany giggles and tears pieces of her bagel off, dipping it in the cream cheese.

"So, where would you girls like to go first?" Mr. Lopez asks, taking a seat on the bed while the girls finish up their breakfast.

"ESPN Zone preferably first, to beat the rush." Santana sucks the last of her juice and tosses it in the trash.

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><p>"Aahhh you cheater, you can't block my shot!"<p>

"You're just mad because you're losing!" Brittany giggles, sinking her last shot before the buzzer. "Ha 28 to 24, I win! I win! I wiiinnnn!" She dances around Santana, laughing with Mr. Lopez as Santana pouts, her arms crossed across her chest.

"Santana, maybe you should try Air Hockey. You always manage to beat me, maybe you'll have better luck." Mr. Lopez winks at Brittany as he turns and finds a nearby table to sit and watch.

They play three games, Santana winning the first and last one. Brittany spots a racing game with two open seats and runs towards them, dragging Santana behind her. They end up racing against two eight-year old boys. Santana wins and taunts the boys as Brittany pulls her away towards a snowboarding game, she could see the parents of the boys eying them up, about to step in and didn't want Santana to create any more trouble.

After another hour of game playing, in which Mr. Lopez also participates, they realize they've spent enough money on games and decide to waste their dollars on tangible items.

"Alright, Michigan avenue shopping time." Santana smiles and leads the way.

"She's crazy isn't she?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah, but you really can't help but love her anyway." Mr. Lopez responds, shaking his head at his daughter who looks to be on a mission, he's just not sure which store will be the end result.

"San, where are we going?" Brittany runs ahead to her friend.

"Virgin Records remember? I needs me some music and maybe a poster for my wall or a cool T-shirt or something."

Santana ends up getting two CDs and a poster of splattered paint. She's not really sure what it's for but it looks really cool and to her, that's all that matters. Brittany only looks at things but decides against buying anything, opting to save her money if she finds something better at another store.

"Where to next?"

"Well Nike Town and the Apple store or I figured you girls would like to head to the top of the Sears Tower."

"Ooooo San can we go there too? That would be so fun to overlook the city!" Brittany jumps in place tugging on Santana's sleeve.

"We have plenty of time for all of that, so we'll go shop a little then grab a cab and head over to the tower then get lunch, sound good?" The girls nod and head towards Nike Town.

Brittany's eyes bug out of her head when she walks in. She may not be much for sports, but some of the running shoes and outfits were ridiculous. Santana was mesmerized by a pair of soccer cleats and was tempted to ask her dad to get them until she realized she may not play soccer this year. She did however, convince him to buy a pair of soccer shorts for her under the guise of needing them to work out. In actuality she just really wanted them for any reason.

At the Apple store, Mr. Lopez was lost to the world.

"Your dad is such a closet nerd isn't he?" Brittany giggles watching him nearly drool over a 17-inch Macbook.

"Closet nerd? Please! He doesn't exactly hide it very well." Santana stopped in front of the software section and picked up the box for Final Cut.

_Right, looks like nerdiness is a genetic thing. No wonder her and her dad get along so well, her mom wouldn't know what to do with 90% of the stuff in this store. Ooo, these headphones are so cool, and what are these computers with the funny ball seats!_

Brittany walks over and notices the computers are for little kids, as tempted as she is, she decides not to hop on and instead finds herself a spot by the iPods.

"Where's Santana?" Mr. Lopez pops up beside Brittany.

"Last time I saw her she was losing herself in the backs of software boxes." Brittany points over her shoulder. Mr. Lopez follows her gesture and notices Santana standing back, her eyes glazing over as she picks up various boxes and awkwardly returns them to the shelf.

_For someone as cocky as she can be, she sure does get shy around other people doesn't she? I'm glad to see she's taken an interest in something though, even if she won't admit it. Sometimes, as a father, you worry about your kids when they trade their insecurities for sarcasm and false confidence._

"Hey S, you ready?"

"What? Oh, yeah. We can go, I was just looking around." Santana puts a box back on the shelf and hurries past her dad.

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><p>"Wow, this is amazing! I can see everything! Is that a ferris wheel over there?"<p>

"Yeah that's Navy Pier, we can go there tomorrow probably." Santana smiles and keeps walking around. She doesn't notice that her dad has a camera out, snapping pictures of them. "B, come here really quick." Santana puts a quarter in the view finder and steps aside so Brittany can look out at Lake Michigan.

"Oh cool! It's like I can see to the ends of the Earth." Santana watches her friend, smiling at her excitement, happy to have brought it to her. She can't resist thinking how cute Brittany is as she dances along the rail and looks down at the world below her. "It's like they're all toys down there!"

"Girls turn around we'll take a picture with part of the skyline behind you." Santana turns and rests her hand on the railing behind Brittany. Brittany steps closer and wraps an arm around her shoulder. The feeling of being so close makes Santana grin wider.

"Thank you so much Santana." Brittany whispers as Mr. Lopez takes another photo. Santana smiles then clears her and takes a few steps away.

_Dammit Lopez, get your shit together. You're better than this. The more awkward you get the obvious it's going to be and then she'll bail on you and you'll be stuck alone... again._

_I wonder why Santana stepped away from me? I didn't do anything wrong did I? I'll have to ask Mr. Lopez to see those photos later, I bet we look so cute!_

"You girls hungry yet?" Mr. Lopez asked as they made their way toward the elevators.

"Starving." Brittany grabbed at her stomach. "That bagel and banana just wasn't enough!"

"Well alright, let's get some food and decide what you girls want to do next. We have about three hours before my dear wife takes over our plans." He and Brittany laugh, Santana isn't paying attention and misses the joke. Brittany glances at Mr. Lopez, hoping he might have an idea but just shrugs.

"You alright San?" Brittany wraps her arms around Santana's left arm.

"Yeah I'm good, just kind of tired for some reason. I'll probably wake up once we eat."

"You sure? I know you, don't forget that. I know this face you have is your thinking face. I also know that you don't like talking when something is wrong and you bottle it up but Santana, it's just your dad and I. We won't tell anyone. Or, if you tell me I won't tell him, I promise." Brittany sticks out her pinkie, her eyes are hopeful and wide as she waits patiently for Santana to respond.

"I'm okay B really, if I have something to talk about you'll be the first person I find okay?" Santana links her pinkie right as they step onto the elevator. It seems to suffice both Brittany and Mr. Lopez enough to drop their worries, temporarily.

"So, I was thinking, while we're here we should get Quinn something." Brittany mentions, stepping off the elevator. "You were right, maybe she's jealous of our friendship. I want her to feel like she still matters, you know?"

"You're a good friend Britt. We'll find her something don't worry. For now, let's get food, I can hear your stomach over the sounds of traffic." Santana pokes Brittany stomach and jumps behind her dad for protection.

"Not fair you can't use your dad as a shield! Mr. Lopez tell her she can't do that!"

"Don't listen to her dad, you know just as well as I do that her stomach is the loudest thing on this street!" Mr. Lopez just laughs, not giving in to either girls' requests.

_These girls are crazy but I'm glad my little girl is happy. Brittany is definitely a different girl but so far, she seems like a perfect friend for Santana. I hope something doesn't mess this up like my wife and her attempt at joking. I hate feeling like I understand Santana and her sensitivity better than my own wife and oldest daughter. They seem to pick on her, thinking it doesn't affect her at all. At least when we come here it's just us, well, and now Brittany. We can get away from everything and she seems to relax a lot more. I have a feeling things are going to get interesting for my baby girl._


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thank you to both Adolt-Affair and Lizbean for getting on me to get this chapter up while _also_ getting your own stories updated. (Everyone should read Don't Ever Lie to Me and We're Just Getting Started) **

**Also to Amaka Jane for your constant reviews :) - Any errors are my own but please point them out if you see them, I'm self-editing this.  
><strong>

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><p>Mrs. Lopez got out of her meetings for the day by 4 o'clock and met the others in their room.<p>

"Ugh, that was interesting. I swear some of those people are complete idiots!" She pulls her suit jacket off and tosses it on the bed. "Hello girls, did you have a lovely day?" Brittany and Santana are on the bed playing double solitaire with Chicago-themed cards they bought in the gift shop earlier.

"Yeah, usual day. ESPN Zone, shopping, and the Sears Tower to show Britt what it's like up there." Santana focuses on her cards as she replies, her eyes move like a hawk around the middle area, looking for a chance to get a card in before Brittany.

"That's nice. Glad you had fun. Where should we go for dinner?" She asks to no one in particular.

"Britt wants to see Navy Pier." Santana slaps a four of clubs down just before Brittany. "HA, too slow." While Santana is taunting her, Brittany moves a few cards around and lays out the ten of hearts, queen of spades and six of diamonds.

"I may be slow but you are terrible at multi-tasking your attention."

Santana's jaw drops in protest, "that's SO not fair!"

"Well, that's what you get for being cocky!" Brittany sticks her tongue out and scrunches her face. Santana narrows her eyes and puts on her best game face.

"So, Navy Pier?" Mrs. Lopez interrupts, trying to get either of the girls' attention but realizes it's pointless. "Well, if you girls don't mind I'm going to lay down for about an hour and then if you want to get ready, we can head down there and walk around before getting some dinner."

"Yep. Sounds good." Santana absentmindedly replies still determined to beat Brittany.

After ten minutes, Brittany ends up beating Santana by two cards.

"So not fair!" Santana sits back on the bed, crossing her arms while she pouts.

"Aww you poor baby!" Brittany slips the cards back in their respective boxes and drops them to the floor. "Now I'm tired, I think I might nap too. All of that winning just tires. me. out." She giggles when Santana swats at her. She pulls the blanket from the foot of the bed and drapes it over her, falling back onto the pillows with her hands resting behind her head.

"You're such a jerk!"

"Yeah, but you like me anyway. I'm your bestie!" She grins cheekily. Santana tries to keep her pout but the goofy grin plastered on Brittany's face breaks her resolve. She grabs the other side of the blanket and wiggles underneath, curling up on her side to face Brittany.

"Dad, if we fall asleep can you get us up in like 45 minutes? I want to make sure I have time to get ready before mom."

"Can do sweetie." Mr. Lopez smiles as he pulls out a section of newspaper to read.

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><p>Brittany yawns, cracking her neck from side to side.<p>

"Nice nap?" Mr. Lopez smiles as he walks towards the bathroom. Brittany nods even though she knows he can't see her. "Want to wake up the drooling monster for me? By the time she actually wakes up I should ready." He says before disappearing into the bathroom.

Brittany giggles, "sure Mr. L." Brittany considers the plethora of ways she could wake Santana. Sweet; lightly whisper in her ear and gently shake her? Mean; yell in her ear and shove her off the bed? Or...

Brittany bounces up and down, effectively shaking Santana from her slumber.

"What the hell Britt?" Santana groans, her hands rubbing her eyes and wiping the drool from her mouth. Brittany stops laughing and just watches and Santana slowly sits up to lean against the headboard.

"Not my fault. There was an earthquake, it was crazy!"

"An earthquake? In Chicago?" Santana raises her eyebrow, side eyeing Brittany.

"Exactly! Crazy right?" Brittany hits Santana's leg. Santana narrows her eyes and growls at Brittany. "Seriously, it was so crazy it knocked the spit right out of you!" Brittany points to the wet spot on Santana's pillow.

_Shit! Real cool Lopez, drool all over the place like a freaking child! This couldn't get any more embarrassing!_

"Don't worry, you've drooled on me before. Puck told me you drooled on his chest once." Brittany bounces off the bed and heads to the bathroom to fix her hair and change her clothes before their night out.

_Aaaand there it goes. I really need to stop jinxing myself. Turns out it does get worse. She sighs and pulls her bag from the floor to sift through her clothing options for the night._

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><p>During dinner at Bubba Gump's, Santana tells her parents she wants to take Brittany on the Ferris Wheel. She gushes to Brittany about how huge it is and even though it only moves two miles per hour, it's still worth the experience. Her parents nod saying they'll just walk around the pier or sit on the bench by the lake, absorbing the fresh spring evening.<p>

After dinner Santana practically drags Brittany to the entry of the Ferris Wheel. Every time she's been to Navy Pier there's never been a line, this day is no different. However, this time, she actually gets to go on it instead of just watching from the ground. It'd been years since she'd gone on it, the appeal was quickly lost on the rest of her family.

Brittany and Santana hop in their seats opposite each other. Brittany stretches out her legs, her toes touching the seat next to Santana. Santana tries but her toes slip right off the metal seat.

"Aww," Brittany puts her legs down, slides over and puts a leg on each side of Santana. "Put your legs up now, I'll hold yours up with mine." Santana tries again and Brittany grabs her feet and squeezes them between her legs.

The car teeters as the Ferris Wheel starts to make its slow rotation. Brittany claps excitedly bouncing a little, making the car rock even more.

"Hey there bouncy, let's not get busted for over rocking this beast, yeah?" Santana hits Brittany's leg but smiles at her excitement. This is part of the reason she wanted to come down here, to show Brittany what the city looks like when it starts getting dark. The lights transform the city into nothing you would ever imagine in the daytime. No matter how many times her family comes here, seeing Chicago at night always amazes her.

"Oh wow." Brittany's eyes take in the sight as they ascend higher. "San, this is amazing!"

"Isn't it? I've only gone on this one other time. It's a whole different world up here at night." Santana takes a deep breath, a serene smile spreading across her face. Brittany watches as Santana's eyes absorb the sights around her. She's no longer looking at the skyline, content on watching Santana for a moment.

_She is so cute sometimes. I wish more people could see this side of her. Wait, no I don't because that would make me less special because everyone would know and then everyone would want to be her best friend! Nope, I'm going to keep this all to myself!_

"Britt?" Santana nudges Brittany's legs.

"Huh?" Brittany shakes her head, trying to bring herself back to reality and out of her Santana-filled head.

Santana laughs, "you were staring... at me." Brittany notices the way Santana's hands nervously fidget in her lap.

"Sorry." Brittany whispers, turning her head towards the lake to watch boats glide in to the harbor.

The higher they get, the more the wind whips through the cars. Brittany wraps her arms around herself as the wind blows her hair into her face.

"B, come sit over here, I'm blocked from the wind on this side." Brittany slowly crosses to the other side and falls down next to Santana. Santana wraps her arm around Brittany, pulling her close to try to warm her up.

"It's really beautiful up here, I'm glad you took me up here!" Brittany leans further into Santana when a gust of wind blows through. "This is just as good as the Sears tower but like... better because it's all lit up and stuff!"

Santana laughs, rubbing her hands over Brittany's arms. "Yeah, but at least up there you weren't freezing from the wind! I thought I told you to put long sleeves on under your jacket."

"I just thought my jacket would be enough." Brittany pouts.

"Next time maybe you'll listen to me." Santana smirks, nudging Brittany.

As they reach the top and start to make their decent Brittany suddenly sits up and turns to Santana, her eyes lighting up more than the city. Normally, someone would think Brittany just got excited about something but Santana knows this look better than practically anyone else.

"Oh shit. I'm not going to like this am I?" Santana cringes when Brittany points out towards another part of Navy Pier. Santana's eyes follow Brittany's hand to see what she's so excited about.

"Santana! It's like a tree swing ride! How fun would that be! We'd be like vines swinging through the air!" Brittany claps her hands, her face taken over by her smile and beaming blue eyes.

"Hell. No! I'm sorry Britt, you're my best friend and I love you to death but NO WAY!"

"Awww, why not?" Brittany pouts, blinking her eyes at Santana, trying her best to beg without actually getting on her knees in the shaky wheel car.

"Have you seen those things? They're just chairs attached to a cable. It's like the worst version of crack the whip EVER. It's like a glorified sling shot! What if the cable breaks and next thing you know you're flying through the air NOT in a chair and **SPLASH!** You're belly flopping into Lake Michigan or **SPLAT** you're like the retarded bird that doesn't see the building right in front of it and you're brains are painting the brick siding! I'd prefer to NOT die, thank you very much!" Santana crosses her arms over her chest. There is a moment of silence where the only sound is the whistling of the wind and the creaking of the Ferris Wheel as it turns. It's unnerving and just as Santana is about to speak again Brittany bursts out laughing.

"Oh my god San, you are the most ridiculous person in the WORLD!" She can barely speak let alone breathe between fits of laughter.

"What are you talking about, it could totally happen!" Santana is quick to defend her rant. She knows deep down she's borderline insane for what she'd said but it's still possible, albeit a SMALL chance but, still. Santana scoots herself away from Brittany and into the side of the little car.

"Awww did I hurt baby San's feelings?" Brittany scoots closer, resting her head on Santana's shoulder, her hands wrap around Santana's arm and pull it out of the tight pretzel with her other arm. "I was only kidding I don't want to go on that death trap either!" Brittany leans in to kiss Santana's cheek.

Santana's head whips to Brittany just before her lips hit her cheek and, once again their lips catch at the corners.

_Fuuuuck. This is New Years all over again! Except this time she was going to kiss me. We both really need to learn to not turn our heads at the wrong moments. At least we didn't full on mouth kiss. Right? I hope the instant panic I had didn't upset her. She doesn't seem upset. She's leaning against me now and wrapping her arms around my arm so that's good right? Damn, I will say this, I could be freezing, fastly approaching full body hypothermia and my adorable best friend could warm me up in a second!_

Santana smiles at Brittany before turning her attention back to their surroundings, watching as the once small-looking objects start growing in size. The "bigger than you" feeling Santana had earlier is slowly disappearing with each moment and with it comes the truth of reality. The truth that if her mom saw what happened up there, she'd never hear the end of it. The truth that they were both girls. Teenage girls who should be chasing boys, not spending every moment possible together. Truth that Brittany makes her happier than she remembers ever being. Truth that the blond girl beside her could make things better just by hugging her.

Truth that all of these things could destroy her life entirely, and even Brittany's if she wasn't careful.

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><p><strong>Today's Reader Tip: Reviews make the writer get things done faster..<strong>.


	15. Chapter 15

**I woke up today and it was sunny and beautiful (which is a rare occasion in March...in Wisconsin****) so, since it was also St. Patrick's Day when I wrote this, let's just pretend it's just all your lucky day. **

**This chapter sort of wrote itself so I hope you like what it did :)**

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><p>After the Ferris Wheel, Brittany noticed a change in Santana that she couldn't place. Her smile was no longer genuine, her eyes cautiously looking to her mother whenever Brittany grabbed her arm out of excitement over a gift shop inside Navy Pier or from seeing a bird picking at food scraps along the pier. Brittany wasn't sure if Mr. and Mrs. Lopez noticed the change, but she certainly did.<p>

_How is it I know their daughter better than they do? Something about this seems wrong._

"S?" Brittany nudges her as they walk.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You seem... different." She whispers hoping Santana's parents won't hear. Santana bit her lip, how was she supposed to explain this to Brittany? Especially since she was the one who told Brittany not to worry.

"Yeah B, I'm good." Santana reaches out and squeezes her arm three times, their signal for _"we'll talk later." _Brittany smiles sadly, but nods, happy enough knowing Santana will actually talk about whatever it is, even if she has to wait.

"Hey dad?" Santana yells. "Can you take a picture of Britt and I with the lit up skyline?" Mr. Lopez pulls out the camera he always seems to have handy and arranges them to get the "perfect shot."

Santana puts her hands in her jacket pocket as a cool lake wind whips past them. Brittany takes this opportunity to link her arm with Santana's. Santana immediately smiles, lost in the feeling and completely misses her mother's eye roll and scoff.

Mr. Lopez takes a handful of photos before deciding he has at least one good one. He assumes there has to be at least one where the wind didn't blow their hair, they weren't blinking and/or they were actually prepared for the picture.

"Okay, it's getting pretty cold, let's grab a cab back." Mrs. Lopez calls out, already walking towards the street. Santana sighs, pulls her arm from Brittany and walks ahead. Brittany watches her walk away, noticing the way Santana's hands clench and unclench at her side, how she uses her thumbs to crack her knuckles a few times before shoving her hands back into her pockets.

_Something is definitely wrong_.

"Come on Brittany." Mr. Lopez calls out. "I don't think they'll wait for us." Brittany runs ahead to catch up with him. "Don't worry about Santana, she'll be fine. Her and her mother don't exactly see eye to eye but she'll be alright." Brittany nods and fights the urge to tell him he's crazy if he thinks she's alright. "Besides, it's my job to worry; your job is to keep her smiling like you were earlier today. Deal?" He sticks his hand out for her to shake which she does, with a small smile.

"Deal." Brittany looks ahead to see Santana with her head down kicking various rocks. "We should probably walk faster huh?" She motions to the distance between them and the other two. Mr. Lopez laughs and starts taking exaggerated strides, which Brittany quickly copies.

"You two look like huge dorks, I hope you know that." Santana laughs once they've caught up. Brittany is happy to see a real smile again and looks at Mr. Lopez over Santana's shoulder. He nods once, officially sealing their previous deal.

* * *

><p>"I only have morning meetings tomorrow so, think about what you want to do in the afternoon okay?" Santana nods to her mother and grabs her bag to get ready for bed. "Goodnight girls." Mrs. Lopez pulls the covers up and is asleep within minutes.<p>

Brittany crawls under the covers, having gotten ready first and watches as Mr. Lopez flips through the channels.

"So Brittany, is there anything you wanted to do here?" Mr. Lopez asks.

"I don't know, I'm not really sure what there is to do." She feels kind of stupid for not having any idea about the abundance of options she could choose from. She assumed a big city like this had every thing imaginable but she'd never thought she'd get a chance to come here so she didn't exactly prepare.

"Well, there are some nice museums and art galleries. Plenty more places to shop too." Brittany just shrugs. "It's hard to get everything in with only a few days. I don't want you to feel like you're just being dragged around."

"It's fine really. I'm just glad I could come with you guys. This is really fun."

Santana walks out from the bathroom, having heard most of the conversation. "Let's go to that art museum with the lions out front. I think Britt will like it."

"Santana, you think art museums are boring." Brittany reminds her.

"Yeah but you don't, and the ones here are far better than the stupid ones the school takes us to." Santana slides under the covers. "This is your vacation too Britt."

"Well then, Museum of Contemporary Art it is." Mr. Lopez pounds his fist against his leg like a gavel. "Good night girls, give me a call in the morning when you'd like your breakfast delivered again."

"Good night, thanks dad."

"Yeah, good night Mr. L." Brittany pulls the covers tight around her as Santana shuts off the light and TV. They lay in silence for a while until Santana feels a poke to her side. She turns and can slightly make out the worried expression on Brittany's face.

"Hi." Brittany whispers.

"Hey, you alright?"

"That should be my question." Brittany's foot nudges Santana's under the covers.

Santana sighs, "yeah."

"Yeah, it's my question or yeah you're alright?" Brittany scratches her head in confusion.

Santana laughs. "Both, I guess."

"Well, I don't believe you. You said we would talk later which means something is wrong." Brittany scoots closer on the bed.

"Technically, I didn't _say_ anything." Santana smirks.

Brittany pokes her in the stomach. "Well in Brittana language you did." She replies, very matter-of-fact.

"Brittana language? Did you just think of that?" Santana laughs, trying her best to keep quiet.

"Well, it was either that or Santittany and that just sounds dirty."

Santana turns to laugh into her pillow. "It really does, good choice." She says, after containing her laughter.

"Now talk!" Brittany demands, lightly kicking Santana's shin.

"I don't really know, honestly. I'm just really - my mind is a mess." She shrugs and heavily sighs. The weight of everything making even the smallest of things seem much more complex.

"So clean it." Brittany says it as if it's the most obvious solution.

"Not that easy B. I can't just shove this under the metaphorical rug."

"So buy some metaphorical boxes and a sharpie so you can label what they are for if you ever need it later."

Santana smiles, loving the way Brittany can see things so simply. "Yeah, maybe." She sighs again.

"You still have to talk to me though, Santana. Maybe I can help you decide which things go in which box. It'll be like the time you helped me clean out my closet after my mom flipped out when she saw the mess all over the floor."

Santana laughs at the memory. A task that should have taken only an hour stretched into three and a half because Brittany would find something and go into a story about its significance and why she _needed_ it. It was a bit of a struggle, but they managed to get everything sorted and ended up with two boxes full of things Brittany didn't actually _need._

"I'm just sick of dealing with my mom. I always feel like I'm being judged and it sucks! Your parents at least pay attention to you."

Brittany lets the words absorb before responding, "but your dad seems cool."

"Yeah, he's cool but he doesn't do anything when my mom or sister are getting on my nerves. He just ignores it and tries to cheer me up later. What good does that do? Don't get me wrong, I love my dad, when it's just us I can actually be myself."

Brittany nods, thinking of earlier today, "yeah. I noticed you're a lot more calm when it's just him. You seem far more relaxed and very dorky." She nearly falls off the bed when Santana pushes her. "It made me sad after the Ferris Wheel when you were suddenly really quiet, you seemed really tight."

"Tight?" Santana asks, not sure what Brittany means.

"Yeah. Like when I'm dancing, if something is wrong I'm not loose. My teacher says I don't move like water. She says you have to be able to bend and move as if your bones don't exist but when you're upset it's like your bones get bigger and they can't disappear. It makes you tight. When I'd grab your arm, it's like I could feel your bones get expand and you just got even more stiff."

Brittany sees Santana try to discretely wipe her face. "You want to know something cool though?" She reaches out to grab Santana's hand and sees her nod. "When your dad and I came walking up and you called us dorks, it's like your bones shrunk a little. Not completely like when we were up on the Ferris wheel and you were looking at the skyline as if you'd never seen it before; Or even this morning when we were at ESPN zone. But it was like once your dad and I showed up, the water came back." Brittany smiled and ran her hand up and down Santana's arm.

"Britt?" Brittany stops moving her hand, waiting for Santana to continue. "What happens if my bones get so big that I can't get them to disappear? No matter who is around me; or what if you and my dad can't make this go away. What if they keep growing and then I can't breathe." Her voice is meek, barely a whisper. Brittany's heart breaks and melts at the same time. She can already tell Santana is reaching her breaking point. That her bones are already starting to crush her.

Brittany scoots even closer and wraps her arms around Santana. She squeezes her tight against her chest, her hands pressing firmly into Santana's back, hoping she can make the bones smaller by force. When that doesn't seem to work, and she can feel her shirt getting wet from what she assumes are Santana's tears, she tries speaking.

"You will always have me, and I know all of the tricks to turn your bones to water. Even if it takes a while, I will do every thing I can to make sure you don't get crushed from the inside. You are my best friend Santana, no matter what happens and I know your dad will always look out for you even if it doesn't seem like it." Brittany feels Santana sink a little into her chest. "See already working." She smiles. Santana just hugs her tighter.

"Thank you Britt. You're my best friend too. I don't know what I'd do with out you." Brittany shushes her, bringing her left hand up to push some of Santana's hair away from her face. She tries to think of what else might help Santana; tries to remember the things that work for her. Judging by Santana's past reactions she's not sure if her first idea will work, but it's the one thing that has always worked for her so, with a deep breath and the fingers on her right hand crossed, her left hand tilts Santana's head up a little. Santana's eyes look up towards Brittany. Brittany smiles then closes her eyes, places her lips against Santana's forehead and holds them there. She feels every bone in Santana's body expand then immediately disappear completely as Santana exhales all of the tension she'd been feeling since her mom got back hours ago.

_Yes! It works!_ Brittany contains her excited squeal, not wanting to ruin the moment. She pulls her head back to chance a glance at Santana and notices her serene smile then hears a light snore. _Well, I guess that's a better reaction than her freaking out. This is like the ultimate relaxation response. Hopefully this doesn't always put her to sleep, although that would be cool if I had some kind of magic power._ Brittany loosens her grip and gently pushes Santana back onto her pillow, lays back onto her own, still facing Santana, and pulls the covers over them. She's about to fall asleep when she feels Santana's fingers slip between her own.

"Night Santana." She whispers, running her fingers over the top of their entwined hands.

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><p><strong>Alright, what did you think. The review button isn't far from the bottom of this page, I know you're intelligent enough to click it and tell me SOMETHING about this chapter or this story in general.<strong> **Unless you'd prefer to prove me wrong...  
><strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**I would like to thank my reviewers for letting me know how they feel, snixicorn I hope this was soon enough for you. The fluff in this chapter is dedicated to adolt-affair. I hope it's fluffiness is to your liking :) And lastly a thanks to the writer's block currently effecting lizbean's brain which allowed me to finish this chapter. ;) Enjoy everyone.**

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><p>When Mrs. Lopez woke up to get ready for her meetings, the sun had yet to cross the horizon. It was something she was very used to over the years of early work hours. When she'd walked out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, her eyes spotted the shadow of something she wasn't used to seeing. She couldn't tell for sure, even though the sun was now rising, it was still pretty dark thanks to the heavy curtains of the hotel room, but the light that peeked in from the edges was enough for her to see both of Santana's arms wrapped around Brittany's right arm.<p>

_Something about this seems, wrong. _ She thinks, pulling her jacket from off the desk chair in the corner._ Then again, Santana does sleep with a body pillow at home, so maybe it's just a natural thing to want to hug something? She is sleeping after all, I suppose I can't hold it against her. I'll just have to keep a closer eye on things._

She shrugs, and tries to shoo away any "inappropriate" ideas. She kisses her husband as he walks past her to take a shower.

"Good morning sweetie." He smiles, "I'll be quick and then we can head out."

Mrs. Lopez turns when she hears the sheets on the bed shuffle. Santana flips over to her other side, her back facing Brittany and her arms tug the blanket up higher, bunching it underneath her chin.

What she doesn't see, however, is Brittany's hand reaching out to rest on Santana's back, her fingers gliding across her best friend's tank top just above the hem. Neither one of them are awake but the smile that forms on Santana's face is enough to trick her mom into thinking she's just having a good dream.

_With a smile like that, I'm not sure what I could ever possibly worry about. It's just too bad I only ever see that kind of smile when she's dreaming. Maybe I just don't pay enough attention to see it when she's awake. Well, I'm sure if something where bothering my baby girl she'd tell me._

Again, Mrs. Lopez shakes the thoughts from her mind and she finishes up getting ready. Within minutes Mr. Lopez is dressed and ready to go. He grabs his wallet, smiles down at the girls, wishing he could take a picture without waking them or delaying his wife, and heads out the door.

* * *

><p>"Mmmmmmm ugh!" Santana rolls onto her stomach, smashing her face into the pillow, she groans again until she hears the faint sound of giggling next to her.<p>

"You okay over there?" Brittany's voice is still thick with sleep.

"Mmmmmm...no. I can't sleep but I want to sleep. This bed is so comfy it should be illegal to get out of it!" Brittany laughs as she watches Santana settle into her spot.

"You know what else should be illegal?" Brittany asks, the corner of her lips turned up slightly while she waits for some sign to continue. When Santana turns her head towards her, she takes that as enough of a sign. "Blueberry muffins from Starbucks and orange juice."

"Damn you Pierce! Now you've woken up my stomach." To solidify her comment, a low grumble sounds from Santana's belly causing both girls to laugh.

"Geez, I don't know who's groan is louder in the morning, yours or your stomach's." Brittany reaches out to poke Santana's stomach and it quickly turns into a full blown tickle fest. Brittany has Santana pinned beneath her, her hands poking and tickling in places only she knows. Many people have tried tickling her and failed, but Brittany found all of her secret spots with only two tries. No matter how hard Santana tries to fight it, she always ends up breaking within seconds.

"Okay okay. I give!" She tries to catch her breath, gripping Brittany's hands that are now resting at her sides. "Get in the shower and I'll call my dad to bring us food." Brittany leans back onto her feet and hops off of the bed.

After Santana calls her dad, she pulls out her clothes to decide what to wear. _ Jeans for sure but should I wear a shirt and a jacket or just throw on a hoodie? Maybe I should wait to see what Brittany is wearing. Well, that may not be a good idea since she didn't listen to me the day before about bringing a jacket. She did look really cute though. That reminds me I should ask my dad if I can see those pictures he took of us last night. I bet I could make something pretty cool with it for her birthday or something._

Santana gets lost in her thoughts and doesn't notice Brittany walk into the room until she's standing right next to her.

"This one with the jeans you wore yesterday." Brittany throws a shirt on top of the bed then walks away. "If you hurry I'll even do your hair before we head out." She adds, walking back into the bathroom.

It takes a moment for Santana's brain to catch up with her. "You know I can't get ready if you're hogging the bathroom right?" She yells, gathering the clothes in her hands and walking towards the bathroom.

"It's not like it's that big of a deal, we get dressed for gym class together and at sleepovers. If you want, I'll close my eyes when you have to get all nakey." Brittany wiggles her fingers as she gestures towards Santana's body.

Santana pauses for a moment before turning the shower on and starting to slide her shorts down her legs. When she looks back up Brittany is smiling but has her hands over her eyes. She quickly pulls off the rest of her clothes and steps into the shower.

"Can I assume you're safely in and I can take my hands from my eyes now?"

"Yes, you're good."

As Santana is finishing up her shower, Mr. Lopez arrives, hands full with the usual assortment of breakfast items.

"Morning Britt! Santana still getting ready?" He sets down the food and takes a seat on the bed.

"Yep. She should be done soon though. I'm doing her hair quick before we leave. We have time right?"

"Plenty of time, the museum doesn't open for another twenty minutes anyway and we don't want to be the first ones in the door. That'd be awfully nerdy of us." He jokes. "Plus, I do recall Santana and her sister talking about cool people being _fashionably late_." He pretends to dust off his shirt and sticks his head high in the air.

Brittany giggles but stops when Santana walks out.

_Damn, I chose a great outfit for her today. She's going to look so cute once I do her hair._

"Britt?" Santana is standing in front of her, a weird smile tugging at her lips. "I brought a brush and two hair ties, wasn't sure what you were doing so I brought two of them." She shrugs.

"Good. Sit!" She commands, spreading her legs a bit so Santana can rest against the bed. Mr. Lopez shakes his head, he can tell Brittany already has his daughter wrapped around her fingers and from the looks of it, that wasn't going to change anytime soon. He pulls his laptop from his bag to busy himself while they finish getting ready.

After fifteen minutes, and a few light slaps whenever Santana would complain about Brittany pulling her hair, they are ready to go.

"Well girls, shall we depart?" Mr. Lopez says, closing his laptop and setting it back in its bag.

"If you stop talking like such a weirdo, yeah we can go." Santana grabs Brittany's hand and pulls her from the room.

"San be nice to your dad." Mr. Lopez is about to thank her. "Besides, where do you think you get all your dorkiness from?" Mr. Lopez does his best to contain his laughter but can't keep it in when Santana spins around, glaring at both of them. Brittany smiles sweetly, shrugs, then taps Santana's cheek a few times before walking ahead of them.

"Oh come on sweetie." He wraps his arm around her shoulder and walks with her down the hallway.

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><p>"Oh my gosh Santana this is AWESOME! Look at all of these!" Brittany's eyes are wide as she takes in the gentle strokes and subtle mixes of color. Her eyes trace the contours of the subjects, captured by the oils, water colors, and other mediums she can't seem to recall the names of. "Don't you think Santana?"<p>

Santana realizes she'd spent most of her time watching Brittany's reactions than she did looking at any of the paintings. To her, the ever changing facial expressions are more interesting than, in her opinion, some person's finger paintings. How someone can throw paint at a canvas and make thousands of dollars from it is beyond her. You'd definitely have to have some real connections to get something like this to become some big deal. But, if Brittany liked it and was enthralled by it then there must be something good. When she notices Brittany staring at her, expectantly, she just smiles and shrugs.

"Come on, lets keep going Britt. There's much more to see." She slips her arm into Brittany's as they walk from one artistic era to the next.

Once again Santana gets lost in Brittany, Brittany gets lost in art and Mr. Lopez just watches, smiling from a few steps behind them.

"You can't possibly hate everything about art Santana, there's gotta be something that appeals to you."

"I have more of a visual, moving picture type appreciation for art. Although I will say some of the surrealist stuff is pretty cool, I like the distortion of reality." Brittany stops and turns, confused by this new bit of information. "I like that they can bend the truth and make it look like it's just supposed to be that way."

"Well that explains everything!" Mr. Lopez exclaims, patting Santana on the back. "You and those artists seem to have a lot in common. You like to bend the truth and bend the rules like it's a common occurrence for a teenage girl." The three of them laugh at the truth of his statement.

"Either way, it's pretty cool. Better than some boring portrait of a lady in an old timey turtle neck or, I don't know, paint splatters that look like something I did in kindergarten!" She crosses her arms over her chest and walks ahead of them.

"You know Santana, the Art Institute museum is free today and they have more modern stuff, photographs and I think they're supposed to have a media section with videos and stuff." Mr. Lopez suggests.

"Well, let's finish walking through here first, let Britt enjoy this then we can figure out what to do next."

_Holy considerate batman, where the fuck is this coming from? Dear Santana Lopez, who the hell are you? Also why the hell are you talking to yourself? You're like whipped by your best friend! It would be cool to see some art I actually LIKE seeing. But damn, the way Brittany gets lost in those paintings is just... mesmerizing! Focus Lopez, get your shit together, this can't get out of hand. Speaking of hands, it was awfully nice holding hers as I fell asleep last night. I bet she thought I was asleep. That kiss on the forehead was definitely relaxing though and everything I needed to calm down._

Santana regains her focus and follows Brittany around the rest of the museum cracking jokes about various paintings and sculptures.

Once they've decided that they've seen all they wanted to see, choosing to skip a few eras that, from the looks of it, would've put all of them to sleep.

"So, lunch or Art Institute?" Santana grabs her dad's wrist to check the time.

"It's still early let's go to the other museum, see if anything is of actual interest then get lunch." She turns to Brittany, "that cool with you B?"

"Sounds perfect, let's see if we can't bring out dorky-tana for a little bit." She winks and suddenly Santana's cheeks feel too warm. Her feet step quickly from the building, the chill of the spring wind does nothing to cool the burn. She takes a deep breath, nearly choking as the sharpness of the weather freezes her throat.

"Come on sweetheart." Mr. Lopez nudges her as he walks past.

"Yeah, come on _sweetheart_." Brittany giggles, the burning reignites on Santana's face. Brittany grabs her hand and Santana suddenly snaps back to reality. But not true reality, a Britt-ality where nothing else really exists but her. It's her own from of surreality that far surpasses anything she's ever seen put to canvas. Salvador Dali would kill for a view on life like hers. Forget melting clocks and stretched faces, this was something else entirely.

When they got to the Art Institute they found out the media center was closed to prepare for new exhibits but the rest of the museum was open.

"We can do something else if you want." Brittany pouted, knowing Santana was probably only excited for the media section. She rested her chin on Santana's shoulder.

"No, it's cool, this may still be interesting." She smiles.

They end up finding the photography section and Mr. Lopez becomes the dazed observer. Once they manage to pry him away after forty-five minutes they walk to another section.

"Whoa. Cool!" Santana stops in front of a picture of a train coming out of a fireplace then again at one that looks like the person is crawling out of it. She looks at the placard next to the pictures to see if it describes how it's done.

"Trying to figure out how it works?" She startled when an unfamiliar voice speaks, too close for her comfort. She turns towards the person, a young guy with shaggy brown hair and emerald green eyes smiles at her.

"Uh, yeah but it's fine." She tries to continue walking but he just walks with her. "Can I help you?" She asks, raising her eyes. She tries to find her dad or Brittany but fails to spot them in the crowd of people she wasn't aware had filed in since she'd got there.

"Actually, I believe I'm trying to help you." He winks at her. Normally this would entice her, he was definitely cute and he obviously liked her but he was making her skin crawl. "It's Photoshp by the way. The program they use."

"My don't you sound informed." She rolls her eyes, still trying to put some distance between them, and hoping she finds Brittany soon.

"Well, my brother did one of these, he's pretty cool. So, what's your name?" She's about to come back with a snide remark when she feels two arms wrap around her shoulders. The anger immediately blown away.

"Found you!" The bubbly blonde squeezes tight. "I seriously thought I lost you, it was scarier than the time Lord Tubbington thought he saw a lady cat and walked down to the neighbor's house, which as you know is like a mile away. Luckily the neighbor's knew who he was. It was probably the cigar he was smoking, people know he has his own special brand." She finally notices the boy standing in front of them, looking at her like she's just said something matching the art on the wall; unrealistic. "Hi-ya!" She sticks her hand out towards him.

"Uhhh, hi." His hand cautiously meets hers.

"What's your name?" she asks, her voice still excited.

"Nick. Um, my name is Nick." His eyes dart back and forth between the two girls. They stay mostly on Santana, trying to read her expressions to find out if the blonde in front of him is as crazy as she seems.

"Well Nick, it's nice to meet you, my name is Michellangela and this is," She pauses, "Raphela." His eyebrows scrunch together, his head tilts to the side, fully confused by her response. "Anyway, we've gotta go. Come on babe, we're getting pizza." Brittany slips her arm through Santana's and walks off, leaving a still dumbfounded Nick behind.

"What the hell was that and thank you very much. That dude was creeping me out!"

"I saw you two talking and your hands were doing that finger cracking thing you do when your nervous, or pissed off. I couldn't tell at first if you were nervous because he was cute or pissed off because he was annoying you. Then when I saw him follow you to the next room I knew exactly what it was."

_What she doesn't need to know is how badly I wanted to just punch him the second I saw him. Making a scene would probably only freak her out more but, something about him so obviously flirting with her just made my skin itch. It was worse than that summer I forgot to put bug spray on and the mosquitos treated my skin like a Christmas feast, but not really Christmas because it was summer. I guess it'd be like a Fourth of July feast even though no one really feasts on that holiday. Either way I was itchy for weeks!_

"Britt? The names?"

"Duh! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I'm Michelangelo because I'm silly like he is and you're Raphael because you're rude sometimes but you always make sure we don't do anything stupid."

Santana fell into a fight of hysterics. She wanted to be offended by Brittany's character matching. She'd always loved Michelangelo growing up, he was the cool one that didn't give a shit, but she really couldn't deny the meaning for Britt choosing what she did.

"You're crazy but definitely a genius and a life saver."

"Ooo, can I be cherry flavored?" Brittany's eyes light up.

Santana shakes her head, still laughing. "Sure Britt-Britt. Whatever you want."

"Well, fancy meeting you here by the exit. Glad you see you found her Brittany. You girls ready to go?" Brittany and Santana nod.

"What would you like to eat?"

The girls turn to each other, eyes wide and smiles just as large, "PIZZA!"

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><p><strong>All flaws are mine<strong> **in my Beta-less world, I forgot to mention that earlier :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Welcome to the next installment. Please review, I live off of them and you all have been doing a bad ass job of letting me know what you think. Thank you very much for your reviews, favorites and alerts. They warm me on these cold & windy days of Spring :) Love you all.**

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><p>Mr. Lopez and the girls meet up with Mrs. Lopez in the hotel lobby after their lunch. They find a few seats around a little bistro table and tell her about the museums they went to and the different art exhibits they saw. Santana and Brittany make fun of Mr. Lopez's lengthy time spent in the photography section, but he is on his game and cracks jokes back at them.<p>

"That's not fair!" Santana pouts, her parents and Brittany all laughing at Mr. Lopez's imitation of her jaw dropping reaction to the "out of bounds" exhibits. "Whose side are you on Britt?" Brittany leans over and hugs her tight.

"Glad you all had a good time," Mrs. Lopez shifts in her seat, her laughter ceasing completely as she tries to change the topic, "I did some shopping during our lunch break, bought a few new pairs of shoes. I'll have to show you when we get back to the room. Have you decided what to do?" She looks directly at Santana who had slid out of Brittany's embrace as soon as her mother started talking.

"Well, we haven't gone to Water Tower Place yet." Mr. Lopez answers, seeing the slight panic on Santana's face.

"Ooo goody!" She claps her hands. "Let's not waste anymore time. We leave early tomorrow morning so today should be a good ending to a wonderful weekend." Santana rolls her eyes as she stands up and pulls Brittany up with her.

"Are we walking or taking a cab?" Instead of answering, Mrs. Lopez walks out the doors and towards the sidewalk. "I guess we're walking," she sighs, shaking her head as she picks up her pace a little, Brittany walking next to her. She's glad they're behind her mom instead of in front; when the crowd thickens, she instinctively grabs for Brittany's hand.

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><p>"Holy crap that Borders is huge!" Brittany says, her eyes wide as she takes in the three-story bookstore. Her gaze travels over to another large store. "What's F-A-O Schwarz?"<p>

"A store you and I will DEFINITELY be going into."

They start with Borders though, Mrs. Lopez looks for books to read on the drive back and anything else that may be of use to her. Mr. Lopez wanders around the floors, casually browsing, knowing Santana will soon be looking for him to purchase a few CD's or DVD's.

"See anything you like?" Santana asks, bumping her hip into Brittany's. She nods then pulls on a pair of headphones to listen to some of the samples they have programmed in the little box in the Pop section. Santana laughs when Brittany quickly pushes the volume down, her face pained until the volume is at a more tolerable level.

"THIS IS REALLY GOOD SAN!" Santana pulls the headphone away from Brittany's ear.

"You really need to learn how to talk with headphones on, pretty sure everyone could hear you." She laughs.

"Oh, sorry." Brittany's face turns a bright right, her ears tinged at the tips. "But really, listen to this I think you'll like it." Santana closes her eyes to get a better feel for the music, her head is ducked down as if it's supposed to make her hear it better. Her fingers start to tap along to the beat, head swaying slightly back and forth. As the song finishes, she pulls the headphones off and grabs the CD from the rack.

"Good choice B! Let's see what else we can find shall we?" Santana turns towards another section, Brittany right behind her. They flip through CDs, laughing at some of the ridiculous names and covers they come across. When they decide they've had enough, they try to find Santana's dad.

"It's so easy to find your dad with that crazy gray hair of his. He just stands out." Brittany comments once they spot him in the Jazz section.

"Hey dad!"

"Hello girls, finding anything good?" Mr. Lopez looks down at Santana's hands. "I guess so. I'm assuming you need money to buy those?" Santana nods, smiling. "Can I get them cheaper at the record store downtown?"

"Which store?" Brittany asks.

"Rockin' Randy's. My dad made friends with Randy, Jamie and I are pretty sure he smokes with him from time to time." Santana's hands mime smoking a joint.

"Hey now, he's a good guy." Mr. Lopez defends, laughing slightly at the running joke he has with his daughters.

"See how he doesn't deny it?" She laughs. "Anyway, pretty sure it's same price as his place, maybe only a dollar or two difference." she shrugs, sliding the CD cases around to check the prices.

"Well if that's all you're getting then I'm going to get this Miles Davis CD and we can go find your mother. Where else did you want to go?" Brittany's body starts to shake with excitement, her hands rapidly tapping her legs.

"You think we could go to F A O after this? Or if mom isn't ready yet we can run over there and meet you at..." She thinks for a moment. "Ghirardelli's for some chocolate. Maybe it will win mom over a bit if she has chocolate in her system and you two have to wait for us."

Mr. Lopez pulls his daughter close, "you're a smart girl Santana Lopez, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Go on and head over there, meet us next door at Ghirardelli's in twenty minutes, I'll keep your mom occupied until then." He hands her two twenties in case she _absolutely needs something, _which he hopes she's grown out of but, just in case it's better to have the money than risk having to bail the girls out of jail for shop lifting a stuffed animal. "Oh, and Santana, twenty minutes, the chocolate can only do so much if she _does_ have to wait." He winks.

"Thanks Mr. L."

"Thanks dad I'll make sure we're back in time!" She hugs her dad quickly before pulling Brittany towards the escalators.

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><p>"S look, it's a huge piano on the floor!" Brittany jumps on the keys and giggles as it plays the appropriate note. Santana smiles, watching her friend's face light up with the keys.<p>

"I'm assuming you've never seen the movie Big?" Brittany looks at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "You know with Tom Hanks? The one about a kid who wishes he was big and wakes up and he's this, like, thirty year old guy?" Brittany shakes her head, stepping off the keyboard.

"You think that could actually happen? Like make a wish and it comes true?"

Santana laughs, "I wish. That would be great!"

"Well San! You can't wish about a wish, that's like... I don't know it cancels it out or something." Santana laughs at her friend's logic.

"You may be on to something there B. I'll have to remember that, no wonder some of my wishes haven't come true!" She walks past Brittany and hops on the lower register of keys, stepping back and forth on a few of them before hopping off and walking to another part of the store.

"There are so many toys here. I wish we were still kids, I'd try to get everything in here!" Brittany picks up a small stuffed otter. "Look, your favorite animal!" She pretends to have it swim, on its back, over to Santana and nuzzles it into her neck. "Aww, it likes you!"

Santana runs over and pulls a large floppy eared dog from the shelf and shoves it at Brittany.

"I can't tell if it likes you or wants to eat you!" Santana laughs, shaking the dog as best as she can into Brittany's face.

"I want this dog!" Brittany wraps her arms around it and hugs it close to her, nearly tripping over its feet that drag on the ground.

"Britt, that thing is as tall as you, it would never fit in the car and your mom would literally kill me if she saw you come home with it." Brittany pouts and sets the dog on the ground next to the shelf. She would've tried to put it back but knowing her luck she'd end up knocking down the entire shelf and probably suffocate in the avalanche of floppy-eared dogs.

"Come on, I'll find you something else. Maybe we can get Quinn something from here too." Brittany claps her hands excitedly at Santana's idea and they set off on their quest for a Quinn worthy item.

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><p>"You're late!" Santana's smile drops as she walks into the chocolate shop. "What took you so long, and what in the world did you buy? Santana please tell me you aren't wasting money on toys, you're in junior high for god's sake."<p>

"Mom, chill out, it's for Quinn and Britt bought her thing with her own money."

"That still doesn't explain what took you so long. We've been here for thirty minutes already." Santana takes a seat furthest from her mother, leaving the seat next to her father open for Brittany. She's not sure how to explain their tardiness. If she told her the truth, that they just got caught up playing around, her mother would probably make them pack up their things and insist on driving home immediately. She wasn't about to ruin Brittany's trip with the truth but she could feel her mother's impatient eyes boring holes into her head.

"There was a kid who was lost and crying in the Lego section, we helped him find his parents. We're really sorry Mrs. Lopez, I just felt really bad because I got lost in the grocery store once when I was little so I know how it feels." Santana nodded when her mother turned towards her. She could tell her mom didn't entirely believe the story but opted to humor them and pretend as though she did.

"Can we get something quick, since we're here. Britt has never tried Ghirardelli chocolate." She looks directly at her father when she asks.

"A-hem." Santana turns to her mom trying to keep her eyes from rolling.

"Please. We will be quick. We can even just share something so it won't take as long."

"Fine, but hurry I'd like to get to Water Tower Place before the crowds start." Santana wants to mention that the crowds are always there but knows better than to talk back to her mom when she's already in a bad mood. Instead, she nods to Brittany and they walk towards the counter to decide what to order.

"Do you want to just get a sundae to go?" Brittany whispers, her hands nervously fidgeting in front of her.

"We can, if that's what you want, but I'm getting a cookie too." While Brittany seems scared, Santana is just plain pissed off.

"But your mom-"

"Fuck her, alright." She turns towards Brittany, her voice softening as she lets out a heavy sigh, visibly deflating, "I'm sorry. I should've kept better time, then you wouldn't have had to sit through that. Thank you by the way for saving us. I owe you big time." She leans into Brittany for a moment, it's a small movement but to the girls, it's a more than enough.

Brittany glances over the board above the counter trying to decide what she wants. She's about to settle for a shake when she sees a picture of the gourmet hot chocolate, whipped cream piled high with mini chocolate chips and chocolate dustings. Brittany licks her lips and hums just imagining how it tastes. Santana is eying up the same thing but without the whipped cream. Something about the texture of it doesn't appeal to her which seems weird to many people but as far as she's concerned they can shove it.

"Hi, what can I get you?"

_Whoa. She is really cute! Wait, what is happening? I'm not supposed to notice girls, I thought Britt was just some weird exception. This is getting worse. But damn, I'm such a sucker for blue eyes, those aren't anything like Brittany's but holy crap!_

Brittany notices Santana gulp and her hands rubbing slightly over her legs.

_Wow, this is a whole new version of "nervous Santana." I wonder what just happened, she was fine until the girl came to ask what we wanted. I guess one of us should say something._

"Hi! Can we get two small hot chocolates, one without the whipped cream and a chocolate chip cookie?" Brittany spotted a bar of mint chocolate and grabbed it, setting it on the counter. "This too." The girl nodded and totaled up the order, since Santana still seemed a bit stunned Brittany stuck her hand in her front pocket and pulled out the left over money from the store. This snapped Santana out of her daze, her head whipped to Brittany who smiled sheepishly before turning to pay the girl.

"Sorry, you were zoned out, I didn't know what else to do." Brittany says, handing Santana the change as they slide down the counter to the area marked _Pick-Up._ "Are you alright?"

Santana shakes her head of her thoughts, "yeah, sorry about that just um... yeah. So what did I get?" She laughs.

"I got us both hot chocolates but yours is without whipped cream since I know you don't like it. Oh, and a cookie and this minty thing because I know you like anything minty." Santana is slightly surprised by the amount of thought that went into the order in the time that she was sorting through her thoughts. It didn't seem like long but maybe it was. She beings to panic thinking she must've looked like a complete idiot in front of that girl and Brittany. "Don't worry, I knew what we were getting before she even got up there, the mint bar was a last second grab. You weren't a space cadet for very long, though you _will_ have to tell me about it later."

"Honestly Britt, I'm not even sure what to say about that. Thanks again for saving me... again." Brittany grabs their drinks when they are placed on the counter and Santana grabs the cookie, tearing the package open to take a hearty bite from it. Her eyes close as she stops walking to savor the taste for a moment.

"Come on silly!" Brittany tugs her forward, handing her her drink. When they get back to the table Santana can hear her mother talking in a hushed tone, in Spanish. She can't hear all of it but from what she can hear, it's about her and Brittany and it's not good. Her mother's hands are moving frantically as she speaks, her dad just sits, arms crossed staring down at the table, nodding along but giving no other reaction to what's being said.

"We're back." She says, approaching the table. "Can we go now?"

"Well of course princess but only if YOU are ready. We wouldn't want to hold you up now." Mrs. Lopez stands and grabs her jacket.

"Oh please. Need I remind you how many times I've had to wait for Jamie for pretty much EVERYTHING!" She's whispering to keep the conversation between them, but the sharp tone is still enough to make Brittany take a step back and nervously sip on her hot chocolate. "The whole world revolves around her. On her watch. It's ridiculous and now you're acting as if I'M the one just because I'm actually having a good time? This is Bullshi-"

"HEY!" Mr. Lopez stands from his seat and steps in front of Santana. "Cool it, let's just go." She opens her mouth to speak but he just raises his eyebrows, juts his head to the side and pushes her towards the door.

"This is fucking bullshit." She whispers into the Chicago wind as she steps out into the bustling city. She looks to her side, hoping to find Brittany but doesn't see her. When she turns back she sees Mrs. Lopez and Brittany still inside. Brittany's hands are clasped behind her, nodding slightly as Mrs. Lopez speaks. Brittany may be taller, but from the window it looks as if Brittany is three feet tall. Santana has never seen Brittany look so broken, she can tell that Brittany is trying hard to keep it together but Santana knows the tell tale signs. Whatever her mother is saying is tearing her best friend apart.

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><p>Mrs. Lopez grabs her arm as she's about to walk out behind Santana and Mr. Lopez. "Brittany, can I speak to you for a moment?"<p>

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><p><strong>I wasn't going to leave it here, but then I thought it could give me more time to create a decent enough scene between Mrs. L and Britt. I don't want to rush it...you can also blame adolt-affair and her greediness for the cliff-hanger AND for the chapter getting posted in general. :)<strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**This is a short one, I felt really bad for leaving you hanging so long when I've had the argument done for over a week or two. I didn't have anything after it so, once I got to the end of this, I figured it would be good to put up. Hope you like it.**

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><p>"Brittany, I'm not sure what your style of friendship is with others, but I find the touchy-feely way you interact with my daughter as a bit... inappropriate."<p>

Brittany tilts her head to the side, trying to decipher what she'd just heard.

"What I mean is, I strongly suggest keeping your hands to yourself from here on out. It gives the wrong impression to those around you."

"Wrong impression?"

"Yes Brittany. It makes others think you and my daughter are some kind of... couple. How will either of you find suitable boyfriends if you appear to be..." She swallows hard, "involved with each other."

"But Mrs. Lopez, Santana just had a boyfriend, me too. They didn't care how we acted. My parents never said anything about it, not even the teachers. It really can't be that bad." Brittany clasps her hands behind her back happy with her logical response until she sees the shift in the older woman's face. From the look, Brittany knows she's said something wrong.

"Well," Mrs. Lopez adjusts to stand straight in front of Brittany, "just because your parents don't seem to care about your future, doesn't mean I'm going to allow my daughter to fall under the scrutiny of others as she grows up into a successful adult." She turns to walk away but stops, spinning on her toes to face Brittany again. "And don't even get me started on the poor excuse for educators in that school of yours. It's no wonder you probably didn't understand a majority of what I'd just said, no parental guidance and a failure of your school system." Pleased, she turns back around and walks out of the building.

Brittany stands still, her head ducked down into her chest. She's not even sure what to think about what just happened. All she knows is that she's not allowed to be near Santana unless she wants Mrs. Lopez breathing down her neck again and essentially calling her stupid.

_I'm not stupid. Santana even said so, she said I just learn some things differently . I can't help it that I mix up my words sometimes, it doesn't make me any less smart than the other people! What's so wrong with hugging my best friend, and trying to keep her from getting lost in the city? Why was Mrs. Lopez angry? Why is Santana standing in front of me looking so sad? WAIT-_

"Santana?" Brittany shakes her head and focuses back on the girl in front of her.

"Oh thank god, I thought you like seriously checked out on me! Come on, we gotta go my mom is on a rampage speed walking across the street, we need to catch up." Santana grabs for Brittany's hand but she pulls it back, trying to ignore the confused expression on Santana's face.

"Come on San." She walks out of the doors with Santana a few steps behind, both girls still trying to figure out just what had happened.

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><p>"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Santana slides under the covers, pulling them around her. They'd gone shopping for only an hour before Santana got sick of the obvious tension with no one telling her just what had happened. Even during dinner, her mom talked about her day and how she was sad they would be leaving. Brittany kept quiet, only speaking when necessary. Whenever Santana would lean over to see if she was okay, Brittany would lean away and just nod, never actually voicing a response.<p>

"It's fine Santana, let's just go to sleep." Brittany starts to turn away from her but Santana grabs her shoulder and pushes her on to her back, keeping her hand on Brittany's arm.

"I'm not going to sleep until you tell me what happened. I'm not an idiot Brittany, I saw my mom talking to you, I saw the way you were acting while she say whatever bullshit she was saying."

"You may not be an idiot but apparently I am." Brittany whispered, slightly hoping Santana wouldn't hear her, but knowing the silence of the room had probably only amplified her statement.

"Is that what she told you, that you were an idiot?"

"Just forget it Santana."

"NO! I'm not going to forget it, is that what she said to you?" Santana tightened her grip on Brittany's arm.

Brittany nods, then realizes Santana might not be able to see it, "more or less. She said we make people think we are together and pretty much that I'm stupid for not understanding why."

Santana's jaw tightens as she takes a deep breath through her nose. "Britt, you aren't stupid. I don't know what my mom is thinking trying to make you think that; but I can assure you, you are NOT stupid."

"It's whatever Santana. Like I said, don't worry about it."

"Brittany Susan Pierce, I am your BEST FRIEND, it is my job to worry about you!" Santana pulls Brittany closer, wrapping her arms around her best friend, running her hands over Brittany's back. "Don't listen to a word anyone says. They don't understand you and they don't understand our friendship. You remember how I said even Quinn might be jealous of our friendship?" She feels Brittany nod against her chest. "Well, just pretend everyone is like Quinn, just jealous because we are so awesome, okay?" Brittany nods again, hugging Santana tight.

"Thanks S, you always know how to calm me down."

"Like I said, it's my job. Let's get some sleep okay?" Brittany nods again, turns on her side and quickly falls asleep.

_I swear if my mom makes me lose my best friend all hell will break loose. No one, not even my own parents, are allowed to say things like that to Brittany. How could she say that? I get that maybe our friendship is a bit out of the ordinary but still. Why can't she just see that I'm happy? Why does she have to ruin everything?_

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><p>"Rise and shine girls!" Mrs. Lopez pulls back the curtains, causing Santana to let out a loud groan of disapproval. "Hurry up, check-out is soon and we still have a long drive ahead of us."<p>

Santana shoves her face deeper into her pillow while Brittany stretches, not wanting to upset Mrs. Lopez anymore than she already seems to have done. Despite the conversation she had with Santana last night, she's still scared. It's one thing to pretend kids their age are "just jealous" but for an adult who is her best friend's mom, it's a bit harder to pretend.

"Come on San, time to get up." Brittany pokes the lump underneath the blankets a few times. When that doesn't work she chances a glance over her shoulder to see if Mrs. Lopez is watching, when the coast is clear and Mrs. Lopez steps into the bathroom, she leans down close to Santana's ear. "Baby San, you gotta get up now or I'll tell Lord Tubbington that he gets to join our next slumber party. Including the slumber part."

"Ugh, that fucking cat." Santana mumbles. "Fine, you win, I'm up." Brittany smiles triumphantly. "But I'm not showering first."

"Oh no, I'm not stupid, as soon as I get up to shower you're going to go back to sleep." Santana smirks, knowing that's exactly what she plans to do. "Santana get your lazy butt up!" She pushes her hard, nearly knocking her off the bed.

"Shit B, you don't need to try and kill me, I'll get up." Santana laughs and scrambles out of bed, keeping an eye on Brittany as she walks towards the bathroom. "Um, excuse me I'd like to take a shower now that you've so rudely woken me up." Santana pushes past her mother, pulls a towel off of the rack and closes the door as soon as her mother steps out.

"Santana, I don't know what your problem is but you better get rid of it while you're in there, you hear me?" Instead of answering Santana turns the water on and steps in once it warms up.

_This is going to be a very long car ride back home._ Santana leans her head forward, feeling the heated water hit her neck and fall down her back. _If only I could wash away the sound of Brittany being so broken, if only I could erase that conversation she had with my mom. If only I could go back to when this trip started and protect her. If only I knew why this was bothering me so much._


	19. Chapter 19

**Dear readers, If you are reading this, thank you for sticking around. I sincerely apologize for the delay in updating. Distractions hit me like a freight train. Here is the next chapter of the young Brittana story. **

**Thanks to adoltaffair for making sure I got my butt in gear and updated. And to shea33fan for "not yelling" at me to keep writing. :)**

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><p>Brittany falls onto her bed, her bag thrown haphazardly towards her closet. She grabs the phone from her night stand and dials a familiar number.<p>

"Hey Britt! I've missed you!"

"I missed you too Quinn! Can't wait to see you at school tomorrow, San and I bought you a present!" Brittany smiles, imagining Quinn's excitement from receiving her gift.

"Aww, you two didn't have to get me anything. How was Chicago did you have fun?"

"Yes! It was amazing! I wish you would've come with us though. I feel bad you didn't get to see all of these cool places." Brittany hears Quinn sigh into the phone.

"Okay Britt, tell me what's wrong." Brittany looks at the phone with a confused expression. "You can try and fake your excitement all day B but you should know by now that I know the difference between your full blown excitement and when you're trying to hide something."

"It's nothing, I'm just tired from the long drive." Brittany bites her lip, rolling the flesh between her teeth

"Bullshit. If you won't answer me maybe I should call Santana and see what exactly she did to make you upset."

"NO! You can't call Santana, and Santana didn't do anything. It's not her fault her mom is mean!" Brittany slaps her hand over her mouth. "I mean... shit."

"Wait...Mrs. Lopez upset you? She seems so nice."

"Well apparently when you make it seem like you're dating her daughter she's not so nice. I don't even get it, Santana and I are just friends. She's my best friend other than you. Do you think we have a weird relationship?" Brittany sits up on her bed, leaning her head against the headboard.

"Honestly B..." Quinn fights with herself over how to answer this. Brittany can be a very delicate person especially when she doesn't understand the harshness of society. It's something she loves about Brittany, how she just sees the good in everything no matter how shitty a situation can be.

"Quinn... I know you're trying to not hurt my feeling but just be honest." Quinn's heart breaks at the softness of Brittany's voice.

"Okay, you're right. Honestly Britt, it's an interesting friendship. You two got very close very fast-"

"Are you jealous?" What Santana said echos in her mind.

"Jealous? Of you and Santana?" Brittany nods, and luckily Quinn knows what she's doing and continues. "No sweetie, I'm not jealous. I know I have both of you, you're both my best friends. Yes, you've been my best friend longer but, I'm not jealous. I will say though, I'm just adjusting to the friendship you girls have and I know I've been doing a shitty job lately. I think from an outsider's perspective it can be difficult to understand. It's a unique friendship that I think is rare to find so I'm glad I can be a part of it, even if I'm not _part_ of it."

"Have I mentioned how amazing you are?" Brittany wishes they'd had this conversation in person, she's itching to grab her friend and hug her tightly, which would probably knock the wind out of her, but it'd be worth it.

"You may have mentioned it before. But that doesn't matter, I asked about your time in Chicago and I expect details!" Brittany giggles at her friends demand and goes into every, would be exhausting, detail about her trip.

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><p>Santana stands in her room and flips her bag upside down, shaking it so all her clothes dump into a pile next to her door. She grabs her purchases and pulls the tags off, sticking some of the size stickers on the wall and her closet door. She's never understood why but even when she takes those stickers off that are on CD cases, she just sticks them somewhere instead of immediately throwing them away. Usually her mom finds the collection and yells at her to take them down, thankfully she hasn't sat in the back seat of her car where several of the stickers from the CDs she'd bought at Borders are now added to the collection she'd already created.<p>

"Santana, can you bring down your dirty clothes please?" Her mother yells from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yep, be down in a minute."

"Now, please." Santana sighs, and stuffs her clothes back into the suitcase, flipping the top over to try and keep the now over flowing pile intact as she hugs it tight to her while she takes it downstairs. "See was that so hard? You really should've just kept it down here like your father and I did." Santana forces a smile as she flips the bag upside down again to create a pile on the floor of the laundry room.

"I didn't want my suitcase being in your way. Every other time I've kept it down here you end up tripping over it and complaining, so I was trying to be considerate to your feet. Wouldn't want to scuff up those new shoes." Santana turns and walks out of the laundry room. Luckily, she knows her mother is too tired to fight and will just let her mildly bad attitude go.

When Santana gets back to her room she grabs her cordless phone off the table and decides to try calling Brittany. Busy signal. She tries calling Quinn and it just keeps ringing.

_Seriously? What the fuck! Ugh this SUCKS! I guess I can double check that I don't have any homework and just hope that one of them decides to call me... _

Two hours later Santana wakes up in a pile of books and papers on her bed and someone knocking on her bedroom door.

"Santana? If you're interested in dinner, there's some waiting for you downstairs." Santana rolls over, cringing when she feels a calculator dig into her back.

"Thanks Dad, I'll be down in a minute. What are we eating?" She rubs her eyes and fixes her hair, slipping off the side of the bed.

"We just put in a couple pizzas. Neither of us were really in the mood to cook so... pizza. That okay?" Santana opens her door and smiles at her father. She wraps her arms around him, hugging him tight.

"Mmmm pizza." She mumbles into his chest, feeling his laugh vibrate against her cheek. She bounds down the stairs and slides across the linoleum floor. "Come on slow poke!" She yells back at her father who is just starting to come down the stairs, too busy laughing at his daughter.

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><p>Brittany wakes up the next morning before her alarm goes off. She's too excited to give Quinn her gift and to see Santana again. She tried calling Santana after she finished dinner, telling her parents about the trip took a lot longer than she'd expected, but Mr. Lopez said Santana passed out pretty quickly after dinner and both of them knew that waking her up would be quite a miracle.<p>

Brittany smiles when she feels a fluffy blob slide into bed next to her.

"Morning Lord Tubbington! I hope you enjoyed your little vacation time while I was gone. I'm back now and I'll be looking through your toys to make sure you aren't stashing any illegal substances." Brittany leans down closer to his head and whispers. "That's your warning to get rid of them while I'm at school." She scratches behind his ear, and rubs his head until her alarm finally goes off.

Once she's ready for school, she grabs her bag and heads downstairs to see her father setting out a juice glass, bowl and box of Cheerios.

"Gooood morning Britt, ready to get back to school?"

Britt grabs the box of cereal, "Not not really. Chicago was far more fun than school. We have honey and raisins right?" Mr. Pierce slides the two items towards her. "No no, I need the milk first. You can't put the honey on until the milk is already in there, otherwise it washes away the honey!" He laughs and gives her the milk then watches as she dumps a handful of raisins on her cereal and makes a design in honey on top.

"You good?" Brittany nods, milk dripping down her chin from the large spoonful she'd just shoved in her mouth. Mr. Pierce pats his daughter on the back before walking to the top of the basement stairs to yell for his sons to hurry before they're late for the bus.

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><p>"Morning! You look nice, care for some pancakes?" Santana's eyes light up as she pulls out a stool to sit at the island in her kitchen.<p>

"What's the occasion? I thought you had to work today?" Santana pulls a few pancakes from the pan her dad had placed in front of her then looks around the island.

Mr. Lopez slides a small glass jar towards his daughter. "I do, but not until later. Whatcha looking for?"

"Powdered sugar? You made pancakes not waffles. I need powdered sugar." Santana responds, as if it should be common sense. Mr. Lopez smiles, sliding a small container towards his daughter then handing her a spoon.

"Did you have fun in Chicago?" He asks, taking the other stool and sitting next to her. She nods, her mouth slightly full, powdered sugar already dusting the counter around her plate. He can see she's holding back in her response, but isn't quite sure if she's resisting a happy response or something else. "Wanna talk about it?" She shrugs, putting another forkful into her mouth, her breath blowing a dust of powdered sugar in front of her.

"I just wish mom wasn't such a jerk sometimes. Do you know what she said to Brittany that night in Ghiradelli's?"

"She mentioned saying something about the nature of you girls' friendship but nothing really beyond that." _Of course she didn't._ Santana rolls her eyes. "Just let it go sweetie, you know how she is."

"Hey San-gay-na, heard you and Britt were being weird gay lovers in Chicago." Jamie walks into the kitchen and grabs Santana's glass of juice just as she was about to take a drink.

"Jamie! Cut it out!" Mr. Lopez scolds, sighing as he shakes his head. _This is exactly what I wasn't looking forward to._ He thinks. _Why must my wife gossip with her oldest daughter and terrorize Santana this way_

"And on that note I'm going to head upstairs and finish getting ready for school." Santana runs upstairs without acknowledging her sister.

"Jamie was that absolutely necessary?" Mr. Lopez grabs the dirty dishe and places them in the sink to do later.

"What? Mom said it was weird how close they were, didn't you think so? Even I've seen it, I'm not that close to _any_ of my friends. It's just... weird. Plus, there's something about Brittany that just doesn't sit right with me. I'm just trying to look out for her." Jamie reasons, annoyed but not entirely surprised that her dad is defending her younger sister.

_It's not that I'd be upset if she WERE gay or whatever. I mean I'm sure that kid in my chemistry class is full on rainbow blooded. It's not my fault she can't take a joke._

Mr. Lopez sighs, his eyes turn towards the stairs for a moment before turning back to his daughter. "Please just leave her be and you should probably get going anyway or you'll be late. We've gotten enough calls from the school about your attendance or lack thereof. I'd prefer to keep them at a minimum for the rest of the school year if you don't mind."

Jamie scoffs, "Fine. Whatever. Love you too dad." She grabs her keys and her backpack and storms towards the door.

"Have a good day honey!" He yells as the door slams shut. "Well... that was fun." He mumbles, walking to the living room to check the latest news stories. "Santana we're leaving in five minutes!" He hollers. "Jamie already left so you're clear to come down whenever."

Santana walks down the steps seconds later. Mr. Lopez gives her a sympathetic smile.

"Don't let her get to you. I like Brittany. She seems like a great friend." Santana smiles, and throws her backpack over her shoulder.

"Well, I guess we can go. Wouldn't want to miss another day of boring classes." She rolls her eyes, but smiles when her dad smacks her lightly on the back.

"No ma'am, we dun gon' git you one-a dem der ed-u-ma-cations. Learn you up real good."

Santana laughs and shakes her head as they get into the car. "Sometimes I worry about you dad."

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><p><strong>I should have another one up in the next week or two. To make up for my recent distractions. PLEASE review, it'll push me to get it out faster :) In the mean time check out these authors &amp; their stories: lizbean , cheshireryan, adoltaffair, &amp; shea33fan.<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

**I said I'd update soon and here it is. It's roughly edited so please excuse me if it has some errors. Also, I'm about to speed this up a bit pretty soon, I have things I want to happen and at this point, seventh grade isn't a good place for that lol Hope you enjoy.**

***I know some/many of you want some cute Brittana relationship... no worries, that is still in the game plan, I promise not to make you wait too long.*  
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***I own nothing but the life I'm loosely basing this on. *  
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><p>Santana walks into school, still a little put off by her sister's words that morning but she keeps trying to remind herself that Jamie is just a bitch. If it doesn't benefit her in some way, she doesn't really give a shit about it. She sees Quinn and Brittany talking by Quinn's locker. Even from a far she can tell that Brittany is being really impatient, looking around, most likely for her. Santana is the one who is bringing Quinn's present because she knew as she as Brittany got home she would end up at Quinn's with it. She's actually surprised, or more so hopeful, that Brittany hasn't spoiled the surprise yet.<p>

"SAN! You're late!" Brittany screams from down the hall. Quinn turns and smiles at Santana.

_Shit... I know that smile. Britt must have told her something about the trip._

"Hey S! How was your trip?" Quinn smiles, hugging her friend tight.

_Yep, she definitely knows something._

"It was good, but I'm guessing from the fact that I couldn't get a hold of either of you last night that you've already heard about it." Brittany giggles, wrapping her arm around Santana's shoulders as they walk towards Santana's locker.

"Yeah well, you know Britt. When she gets excited about something..." Quinn and Santana laugh when Brittany pushes them away, playfully. "Speaking of excitement."

Santana looks at her two friends, one is bouncing in place while the other wears a large cheshire grin. "You want your gift don't you?" Quinn nods, holding her hands out. "If you get Britt to stop bouncing, I'll give it to you." Brittany immediately stops, her hands wringing behind her back to quell the pent up excitement she still has.

Just as Santana is about to pull the present out, the bell rings signaling they have three minutes to get to class.

"Well, fancy that, no time for gifts, I guess you'll have to wait until after school!" Santana grabs her folders for her next two classes and slams her locker shut. "Sorry." She shrugs, pleased with herself in delaying their excitement. They may be her best friends but that doesn't mean she can't mess with them a little bit, right?

Quinn laughs, "I guess I should've expected that. Come on Britt, it's alright I can wait." Brittany is pouting next to Santana, her blue eyes as big as a small child's that just really wants their parents to let them have ice cream for dinner. How Brittany's parents managed to fight that off, Santana has no idea but she refuses to cave in. Instead, she just smiles and walks away, ignoring the whining plea of her best friend.

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><p>By the third class Santana has managed to get quite a few sad pathetic looks from Brittany. It's the fourth class, right before lunch where she sees a shift when passing Brittany in the hallway. Brittany walks, head held high, avoiding Santana's eyes, but she has a very triumphant smile.<p>

When Santana sits down for her next class she sees Quinn with a very familiar looking teddy bear on her desk. "Well, hello sneak! Enjoying your present?"

Quinn turns in her seat and smiles politely, "Yes, I very much am indeed." There's a moment of silence before Quinn continues, her voice softer, "thanks by the way. You didn't have to do get me anything."

Santana quickly tells her it wasn't a big deal before turning to pay attention to the teacher as he starts class. When he tells them to spilt into pairs to review for an upcoming test Quinn slides her desk over to Santana's.

"So, how'd you manage to get that from my locker?" She whispers.

"Britt." _Of course. We've known each other's locker combos since the start of the year. How could I forget that?_

Santana shakes her head and laughs, trying to keep her amusement down so they don't get in trouble. "I should've known. Well, I'm glad you like it. I'll have to remember to talk to Britt about containing her excitement when it involves breaking into my locker."

"So...you didn't tell me about your trip." Santana can tell she's trying to be cautious about this topic which only makes her more curious about what Britt had told her.

"Do I have to? Britt probably already told you everything that we did."

"Yeah, I heard her recap but I'm asking for yours. Britt's never been to Chicago so her re-telling could very well be glamourized. Plus, I'm kind of interested how you managed to deal with her, I can only assume her excitement was a bit over the top." Part of Santana wants to slap Quinn for even suggesting Britt would need to be _dealt with._ But on the other hand she understands that Brittany can very easily let her excitement get the best of her.

Quinn watches as her friend tells of their trip and how excited Britt would get. She tells her of FAO Schwartz and the floor piano, the way they lied to her mom for being late. The excitement from the Sears Tower. Despite everything that's being said, the sparkle in Santana's eye while she talks of how cute Brittany was through out their trip tells a very different story.

_It's no wonder Mrs. Lopez got on their case. It's so easy to notice how they talk about each other, Santana's eyes light up brighter than I've ever seen. Brittany smiles, her cheeks blushing a little when she gets lost in the memories of their trip. When she told me more about the trip in class earlier, I nearly forgot she was talking about Santana. You'd think she met a boy and had a weekend kiss-fest with how giddy she was. I know I said I wasn't jealous of their friendship, and I'm not. What I'm jealous of is how they can talk with such ease about each other, like a perfect couple, but they aren't even that. They're just two friends who click so perfectly, have become so in sync with each other. It's quite possibly the most amazing thing I've ever seen. This is what worries me. Something this great always has a dark cloud looming. Always._

"Earth to Quinny? The bell rang, we gotta head to lunch before Britt freaks out on us." Santana is standing next to Quinn's desk, which she'd managed to move back into the row, leaving Quinn in her chair in the middle of the aisle.

"Sorry, kind of got lost in my thoughts for a second."

Quinn and Santana walk quickly to their lockers and shove their things in. "No shit Sherlock, you alright? You seemed awfully conflicted."

Quinn shakes her head of the lingering thoughts, "yeah I'm good. Let's go find Britt."

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><p>Brittany is sitting at their table when Quinn and Santana walk out from the lunch line with their trays. "My favorites!" Brittany exclaims when she sees them walking towards her.<p>

"I'm not talking to you, jerk." Santana smiles, turning her head away in a very overly dramatic fashion.

"Is this about the present?" Britt whispers to Quinn who just nods in response.

"Saaaannn. You can't blame me, you know how I am. Don't be mad, pleeeaasssee." Santana holds her ground, keeping her gaze away from Brittany's as she sits down next to her, Quinn choosing to sit across from them. "Come on S, you gotta forgive me! It's me, your Britt-Britt. You can't be mad at me, it's against best friend law or something. Q help me out here!" Brittany grabs Santana's arm, pulling it hard towards her, effectively sliding Santana into her chest. Her shoulder connecting with Brittany's collarbone. She can feel Britt's face close to hers, causing her breathing to stutter for a moment. She closes her eyes tight when she hears Brittany take in a breath, her hand that isn't in a death grip covers her face. "Baby San, I promise I didn't mean to ruin the surprise. I'm sorry. I know I should've waited but you picked out such an awesome present that I couldn't wait to give it to her. I told her you picked it out, and that I just agreed that it was perfect. You get all the credit, I'm just the delivery girl." Santana can't help the way her mouth curls into a smile. As hard as she tries to fight it, no matter what she does, Britt always finds a way to break her hard shell.

"You suck. Just so you know." Brittany wraps both her arms around her, squeezing as tight as she possibly can and kisses her cheek. "Can I eat now or do you plan on keeping your arms in a vice-like grip around me for the next forty-five minutes?"

"Oh sorry, yeah, eat. I know how much you like pepperoni pizza day." Quinn laughs, at the interaction but the thoughts from earlier are still gnawing at her. She wants to protect her friends from whatever is coming. She just wishes she knew what it was. In the mean time, she'll just enjoy this bubble they are currently in.

"So, how's it being back, do you two have a lot to catch up on?" She asks, taking a bite from her pizza, sucking in air to cool it off and not burn her mouth at the same time.

Santana shakes her head, "No, I had my teachers give me the work ahead of time and I'm doing a make up test tomorrow after school for English so I should be alright." Both girls look to Brittany who seems to be avoiding eye contact. "Britt?"

"Uh... yeah I kind of forgot to tell some of my teachers so I missed some of the homework and they won't let me make it up." Brittany can easily feel the looks of disappointment without having to actually see their faces. "It's okay, I have decent grades so it won't be a big deal, besides I've heard most of the teachers like to give out extra credit at the end of the year."

Quinn sits back, slightly confused by this news, "where'd you hear that?"

"The older girls on the pom team. They also told me that in high school, the athletes get away with everything and that even though freshman year is still at this school, you're still considered high school, you can even try out for sports there and sometimes join the clubs if you want."

"Well shit, can we just skip next year and go right into freshman year then? I'd like to get this high school thing started so I can get the hell out of here!" Santana exclaims, grabbing her tray as well as Brittany and Quinn's taking it to the trash. It's a trade off they created, whoever finished last had to take all three trays which usually meant Santana when it was pizza day, she liked to savor every bite.

Quinn looks at Brittany and notices her earlier excitement has completely disappeared. She nudges Brittany's leg under the table and tilts her head slightly, silently asking what's wrong. Brittany tries to shake her head but Quinn is persistent, before she can answer Santana returns and starts complaining about an assignment for her History class. Quinn hits Brittany's leg once more and mouths _We're talking later._ She barely catches the small nod, but smiles anyway to make sure Brittany knows she's just worried and extremely curious.

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><p>The end of the day comes faster than Brittany would like, she knows that Quinn is going to want to talk about her drop in mood at lunch but really, she has no idea what to even say. It sounds so stupid in her head that she'd get upset over Santana being so anxious to get out of town. This place may be a bit of a boring city, but it's her home and she can't really imagine leaving it all behind. Sure, Chicago was nice and it wasn't very far so maybe she could be okay with moving to Chicago. Maybe she's just scared that if Santana leaves then she'll forget about her and make new friends. It's a lot to think about so early, they're only reaching the end of seventh grade, there's plenty of time to figure things out. Who knows what could happen.<p>

"PIERCE! Let's go!" A tall girl in black yoga pants and a pink tank top yells from down the hall. She's a freshman and on the pom team. They aren't doing any more performances, but they're still practicing a few more times. They missed their chance at competitions a few months back. One of their top dancers ended up tearing her ACL during winter break and thus, completely throwing off their routine and dynamic.

"Britt!" Brittany turns to see Quinn and Santana at the other end of the hall, walking quickly, probably hoping to catch her before practice. Brittany's head whips back and forth between the three girls, trying to figure out what to do.

"Pierce, NOW you can play with your friends later!" Brittany shoots a quick apologetic glance to her friends and jets off down the hall.

"Well, that was interesting." Santana mumbles. "I blame you by the way." Quinn's jaw drops with disbelief. "I'm serious if you didn't _have_ to talk to Finn, we would've found Britt much earlier. I seriously don't understand what you see in that kid, he's a gangly weirdo."

"Santana... " Quinn replies, exhausted from having to hear about things that are "wrong" with Finn.

"I'm serious Q, he's so dorky! Who wears their hair like that? He looks like a cow licks his head every morning with how he slicks it down. I could see if maybe he styled it better, he _may_ be slightly appealing but he looks like Alfalfa from little rascals with that hair." Santana bursts out laughing at the image of him in place of the actual Alfalfa actor.

"What, so if he had a mohawk like Puck?"

"No, he'd look like an idiot, but a faux hawk would be fine, some kind of **LIFE** to it wouldn't hurt him. Plus, why would I want anyone to look like that idiot? _Clearly_ that didn't work out."

"Yeah but not why you think," Quinn mumbles to herself, her eyes spring open and look to Santana, happy when she sees she's still mumbling things about Puck being a jerk. _Fuck that would've been a pain to explain._

Quinn places an arm around Santana and tries to pull her down the hall. "Hey. Relax Santana, come on, our parents should be here soon." Santana pauses for a moment, her eyes looking down the hall were Brittany headed even though they've been standing there for a good ten minutes, and the beat of the music has been on for nearly the same amount of time. "You know she'll call you when she gets home. Come, talk to me about this science thing we have on Friday I'm still not grasping the concept." Santana turns and starts rambling about the experiment where they'll be using water to crush cans. She saw Santana's eyes light up when she'd first heard about the experiment and knew this would be something she'd be overly excited about all week. _A perfect distraction._ The girls lean against the wall to wait for their parents. Quinn's mom arrives first, leaving Santana by herself in front of the brick building.

_Something's going on in Quinn's head. I'm not stupid I can see wheels turning, I just need to figure out what the hell is going on. I also really hope Jamie is done being such a bitch, she's lucky my dad was home or I would've seriously punched her right in her pretty little princess face. UGH, seriously, wasn't dealing with my mom enough? Did it really have to trickle down to my fucking sister? I hope Jamie never says anything to Brittany. If THAT ever happened, I wouldn't give a shit who was around, my fist would easily make an appearance on Jamie's face. I'm so worried about Britt, she gets so easily distracted sometimes, I don't want her to fall behind because of it._

"Hey space cadet, get in I have places to be!" Santana lets out a heavy sigh, Jamie is the last person she wants to see, but she knows if she doesn't hurry she'll end up having to walk home and explain to her mother why she wasn't home for dinner. Her sister will have already created some elaborate lie about Santana _not being ready_ when she came to pick her up. With another sigh she slides into the car, forcing a smile as the car speeds off.

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><p><strong>Please review, good or bad. If you'd prefer to PM me, I accept those as well.<strong>


	21. Chapter 21

**To my lovely readers. I hope you enjoy this and please know that this WILL become what you want (sweet lady kisses) but a girl can't get sweet lady kisses when she doesn't know yet that she wants them ;) **

**Please let me know what you think, reviews push me further. If you'd prefer another way of getting me to update I suggest tumblr: glee-southwriter**

**All typos and mistakes are my own but thanks for reading anyway :) To Adolt-Affair: tag you're it lol I expect an update soon :)**

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><p>By the time the weekend came Santana was more than ready for the break, making up the English test was a pain. Her teacher wasn't on time and then was acting like he had to be somewhere after only ten minutes. She's glad English is her best and favorite subject so she didn't have to deal with him tapping his pencil and foot in some off-beat rhythm for very long.<p>

The only downside to this weekend, she had to go with her family to her aunt's house which meant no Quinn and no Brittany. Not hanging out with Quinn wasn't so bad, she was sick of hearing about Finn, or seeing Finn for that matter, he was hard to avoid. Brittany on the other hand, her high spirited whimsical best friend, would be hard to be away from. She always felt at ease with Brittany, like she could relax and be herself. With Quinn she felt a little on edge, like she was being scrutinized or had to be on her best behavior. Of course, she didn't usually give a shit about that sort of thing, but when one of your best friends is judging you, it's hard to not feel a little self-conscious about it.

Santana is brought from her thoughts by the nagging voice of her mother, "Sweetie, could you please hurry. I'd like to get there before it gets dark."

"Uh yeah, I'm just putting my shoes on, my stuff is already in the car."

"Oh, oh, well okay then, I'm sorry I thought you hadn't brought anything down yet." Mrs. Lopez pats her daughter's head as she heads towards the door to their garage. "I'll be in the car!" She hollers.

Mr. Lopez comes down the stairs a moment later jumping from the last step, "Ready?" Santana nods, tying up the laces on her shoe. "Oh, before I forget, Brittany called when you were outside earlier," Santana perked up, about to yell at her dad for not yelling for her, "she couldn't talk long but seemed very relieved that we hadn't left yet and just said to check your backpack before you leave." Santana spun on her feet and took the stairs two at a time, when she grabbed her bag from her bedroom floor she flipped it over, dumping the contents on her bed. A small envelope fluttered into the mess which she snatched immediately and raced back downstairs.

"Got it. Thanks, let's go, mom's waiting!" Santana jogged past her dad, nearly knocking him down the stairs to their basement.

She forced herself to calm down when she got to the car, fearing an interrogation from her mother about her sudden excitement. She groaned when Jamie slid into the seat next to her. She'd almost forgot when she was told it was "family time" that it meant her sister would be there too. The letter she was so excited about would have to wait until she went to bed, or could sneak away for a few minutes.

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><p>"Oh Santana, sweetheart! How are you?" Santana bows her head, trying to hide the embarrassment spreading across her cheeks. She loved her aunts and uncles, but something about their overly excitement attitudes and constant need to hug people just didn't sit right with her. It was creepy. Once she escapes the train of hugs and awkward greetings, she finds her cousins in the basement of her aunt's house.<p>

"Tana! What's up?" Santana smiles and hugs her cousin Tierney, noticing the long flowing flower skirt, bright green leg warmers and hoodie that looks two sizes too big for her, complete with a marijuana leaf stitched into the hood. _Such a hippie, which is probably why she's my favorite cousin._ She considers the "favorite cousin" title to be a tie when she sees Miguel, Tierney's much taller twin brother, walk towards her.

"Yo S, what's up dude!" He wraps his arms around Santana and lifts her in the air. When she's safely back on the ground she punches his arm, reminding him how much she hates whenever he does that, not that it's ever made a difference. She hugs her other cousins that are hiding from the adults and they all end up playing video games or catching up on each others' lives.

Santana tells them about the trip to Chicago, and how she finally got to bring a friend along. She tells them of her and Brittany's excursion into FAO Schwartz and how excited she was on the ferris wheel. Tierney talks about how when she's old enough, she's going to buy a van to live in for a while after High School and how she wants to just travel the country. Miguel tells her about his aspirations to play football and a new girl he's been dating. As upset as Santana was about being stuck with family all weekend, she doesn't seem to be showing it now. Within a few hours of being there, her stomach is hurting from laughing so hard at the ridiculous stories her cousins tell her.

"HEY Santana!" Santana freezes in her seat, the careless laughter instantly vanishes as the sound of Jamie's voice rings in her ears. "Why you guys hiding down here? You should be socializing with your family."

"We are, cousins _are_ family you know." Santana snaps, but doesn't turn towards her sister, instead choosing to focus on a crack in the wall over Tierney's shoulder.

Jamie sits down next to Santana, nudging her hard in the back. "Hey, remember when Tonio and I were talking about manatees eating fish and you were like two and were just like _excuse me, you are incorrect, they eat plankton_. Remember that?"

Santana rolls her eyes, her hands clenching beside her. She takes a deep breath to calm her irritation and tries to choose her words carefully, "yes, I remember that but I remember being in first grade NOT two years old. Considering you're both five years older than me I'm surprised you didn't know that. Then again, your grades show how well you _don't _actually pay attention at _anything._ I guess basic intelligence isn't your strong suit huh? Oh well, sucks for you."

"You know what? At least I won't grow up to be making minimum wage for a living. You're a ragamuffin who isn't going to amount to anything. Might as well get used to that fact now, being a super nerd isn't going to get you anywhere either Santana. It just makes you more of a loser than you already are." Santana can feel her chest tighten, her eyes start to blur and little black spots keep blocking her vision. She can feel how her nails are probably pulling the skin off her palm, the muscles in her arm ache from the tight fist. One good swing and Jamie wouldn't be doing a whole lot of anything anytime soon, then again this is a family event and beating up your sister isn't exactly an acceptable action. She can hear Jamie and Tonio, who's the same age as Jamie, laughing despite the loud ringing in her ears.

When Santana calms down she finds herself in one of the guest bedrooms, her bag clutched to her chest, her shirt feels damp from the tears that must have spilled over. She lays back on the bed, placing her bag next to her as she looks around the room. There are paintings of Italy on the walls and a small desk in the corner with a picture frame that still has the fake happy couple in it you see in the stores. The room feels stiff, much like the mattress she's laying on. Too neat and clean. It's evident that they don't often have people over, and have way too much money than they know what to do with. She doesn't remember her aunt's house being like this when she was younger but then again, she'd never went into the guest bedrooms, now she knows why. In another corner of the room she sees a cordless phone and considers calling Quinn or Brittany to distract her from the hell she's found herself in.

_Brittany. The letter. _ Santana digs through her back and finds the letter then hops off the bed to make sure the door is locked before jumping back on and settling herself into the eight small decorative pillows.

_My S-Pez (like that? I just made that one up)_

_I hope you are having a good time at your aunt's house, but I have a feeling you're probably hiding somewhere reading this because your sister was mean to you and you wanted something to distract you. I don't know how well I can do that but this letter is being written so that I can try._

_I wanted to thank you again for letting me come to Chicago with you and your family and to say I hope your English test went okay and to say I'm sorry for giving Quinn her present without you. I know that last sentence is probably a runny one or whatever and since you like English you probably know that, and what I mean when I say runny because I know that's wrong too._

_You are the bestest person I've ever met (shhh don't tell Quinn) and I'm so glad you are my best friend. You really are so important to me, I hope you know that. I can't wait to spend the summer hanging out with you and Quinn, it's going to be so much fun! Remember when I told you about how you need to be like water and that I'd help you keep your bones from shrinking? Remember how I told you that your dad can make your bones shrink? If you really are hiding from your family and reading this, go find your dad. If you can't make a clean getaway from where you are... um... you are my best friend, always will be no matter what happens and your sister is just jealous because you're so much cooler and smarter than she is. She knows that you will be more successful than her and that you are already more responsible than her. Plus she doesn't have a cool best friend like Brittany S. Pierce who is like, the bestest of best friends you could ever have. If I could kiss your head like I did that night in Chicago I would, or give you a super big and super long hug I would. So for now... just pretend and know that Jamie is just being a jerk because she doesn't know what else to do, don't listen to anything she says, please._

_Lord Tubbington told me to tell you he knows a few cats that can do some damage if you need to put a hit on your sister. I'm pretty sure hitting on your sister is like...illegal or just gross, so maybe just ignore him. I didn't want to tell you what he said but he's been looking over my shoulder as I write this so, I had to put it in. What he doesn't know is that he's going to be in trouble for some things I found stashed under my bed._

_Anyway, I hope by now you are smiling, and that your bones feel more watery. I'll miss you all weekend and you better call me when you get home or I'll be very mad at you._

_Love ya babes,_

_Your Britt-Britt_

Santana reads it a few times before she folds it up and hides it in her bag so she can read it later. Even though she's a few hours away, Brittany still manages to make everything better. She's right, Jamie is just being a bitch like she usually is. Jamie is always telling her she wishes she saved money like Santana did, so maybe she really is jealous. Coming to the conclusion that her sister is just bored and looking for some kind of useless entertainment, she slides off the bed, straightens out her clothes and opens the door just in time to see Tierney coming up the stairs.

"You alright S? J was pretty harsh down there, I've been looking all over for you since you ran off." Santana nods and starts to walk back downstairs with her cousin. "I told your dad what happened and Jamie is now stuck listening to Nana tell her "when I was your age" stories while the rest of them finish up making dinner. So, I'd say that's one heck of a punishment." Santana smiles but breaks into hearty laughter when she catches sight of her sister sitting next to their great-grandma, clearly annoyed and looking for a way out. The fake smile plastered on her face and how she just nods and forces a laugh at something Nana says is more than enough to soften her bones. When Santana enters the kitchen she sees her dad talking to one of her uncles and smiles and nods her head once. He nods back, understanding the non-verbal thanks before turning his attention back to the conversation.

* * *

><p>After dinner, everyone, minus the grandparents who went to bed within ten minutes of finishing dinner, is sitting around the large living room.<p>

"So Santana, your mom tells me you and that Puck boy broke up?" She nods, not wanting to get into detail about a relationship that's well past over. "Aww that's too bad, he sounded like such a sweet boy. I wish we would've met him." She smiles politely and shrugs her shoulders, telling them it just wasn't going to work out but she's still young and has plenty of time for new relationships. She doesn't say _boys _or _boyfriends_ and she's not sure why. It just flows off her tongue as an ambiguous statement but she doesn't think any more of it when the conversation turns on Jamie and her plans for after High School and why her current boyfriend is such a trouble maker.

_Karma is a bitch dear sister and I am quite enjoying seeing it kick your ass!_

Mr. Lopez gets up from his seat and walks towards the kitchen, "Santana can you help me bring some coffee in for the adults please?" Santana scrambles up from her seat and skips over to her dad. "I just want to make sure you're okay from earlier with your sister."

"Yeah I'm cool. Thanks for making her sit with Nana."

"Oh you think that was for you? No no no, I was hoping Nana would talk some sense into her. This hair on my head was _brown_ before Jamie met that boy a few months ago and now look at it, nearly all gray! I am NOT an old man!"

Santana laughs and reaches up to ruffle her dad's hair. "Oh it's not that bad dad, it gives you character. Now you can trick people into giving you a senior discount before you're even fifty!" She squeals and backs away as he swats at her. "Come on Salty these people need their decaf before they start a riot." She sticks her tongue out at her father who simply laughs and rolls his eyes.

"I'll remember you making fun of me when you're asking me to buy you something next time. Dont' think I won't forget."

"Okay old man, that gray hair must also mean you're losing your mind. You know you can't say no to this face!" She grins widely, clearly over doing it, and delivers the cups of coffee to her aunts and uncles. She ignores the mumble of _perfect a minimum wage waitress_ that she hears from where her sister is seated.

Miguel, Tierney and Santana decide to grab a game from the hall closet and take over the smaller living room on the other side of the kitchen. They figure if they stay within earshot of the adults, they'll be able to hear whenever they head to bed and can then stay up watching movies for the remainder of the night.

* * *

><p>Santana wakes the next morning to feet walking around above her and loud raucous laughter echoing down the stairs. She squints to check the clock on the cable box. 8:12AM. Groaning, she flips her side and shoves her head underneath the pillow.<p>

"Too loud for you too huh?" The voice is muffled but she can tell it's Tierney's and slips her head from underneath the pillow to see her cousin sitting up from her spot on the floor.

"What is their deal even? How can something be so god damn amusing at eight in the fricken morning?" Tierney laughs, pulling the blanket off of her and stretches then stands up next to Santana's legs. "Should I assume by your hovering that you want me to get up?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could sneak some coffee or at least get up there before they devour all of the monkey bread." Santana's mouth begins to water at the mention of her aunt's classic breakfast, which is basically just cinnamon bread in tiny bite sized pieces piled on top of each other, but it's SO much more than that. "Should I assume by the drool pouring out of your mouth that you'll be joining me?" Santana leaps up and drags her cousin upstairs, practically tripping in her haste to get to the kitchen.

"Good morning girls! Did we wake you?" Tierney's mom asks, sipping her coffee carefully as she eyes the girls, mostly Santana's frantic eyes scanning the kitchen. "The second batch of monkey bread isn't done yet, but it should be soon. Your lucky I convinced her to make two." Santana hugs her hard, profusely thanking her and grabs the orange juice from the fridge to wait for the bread to be done, Tierney on the other hand waits until her mother leaves before pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"I don't know how you drink that shit. Doesn't it like, stunt your growth or something?"

"San, look at me, I'm tiny as it is. Pretty sure I'm not going to shoot up like a bean sprout anytime soon, might as well enjoy being small." She shrugs. "I am who I am and I have no problem with that. Just don't tell my mom, I like to keep some things top secret. At least for now." Santana's forehead creases, trying to figure out just what else her cousin might be hiding. Tierney wants to answer the questions she sees floating in her cousins eyes but knows that it's too soon to get into secrets. She can tell Santana has some too, but just hasn't figured it out yet. She'd heard her mother talking to Santana's mother one night after they'd returned from Chicago. Their mothers are the gossips of the family, which is exactly why she keeps things to herself and probably why Santana hasn't realized her own secrets yet, she's afraid to.

The dinging of the oven breaks the moment and Santana bolts upright in her seat, watching as her aunt Josi comes floating in to pull the sticky cinnamon-y deliciousness from the oven and places it in front of her. Josi slaps her hand as Santana tries to get a piece which would no doubt burn her fingers and her tongue.

"Wait two minutes then feel free to dig in. I'm not about to take my nieces to the emergency room because they were too impatient to wait for their breakfast to cool down." She winks and pulls out two plates for them.

"Where is everyone else?" Tierney asks, taking a sip from her coffee noticing the way her aunt smiles when she notices what she's drinking.

"A few of them went to the store to get a few things for dinner tonight and the others are out by the lake or lounging in the backyard. I think there may be some lazy stragglers still sleeping but I assume they'll be up soon." Josi waves her hand about absentmindedly and grabs the coffee pot, gesturing to Tierney's cup. "Want some more before I make another pot? I won't tell your mom, don't worry, it'll be our secret." Tierney nods, happily accepting both the refill and the keeping of her secret. Santana has always liked this aunt, her and her cousins dubbed her the cool aunt when they were younger. She always brought candy and would let them stay up to watch movies whenever they'd stay at her house, she was like the best adult ever. "You girls enjoy, I think it's been long enough. Don't eat the whole thing though and please, come outside whenever you're done, it's a beautiful day."

* * *

><p>After breakfast and showers Santana, Tierney and Miguel, who was out by the lake when they'd woken up, decide to get a few of their other relatives to go play soccer at a near by park. Only a few others were up to it but it's more than enough to have a successful game. Mr. Lopez is the first to join in, as well as Josi's husband and youngest son. It is exactly what Santana needs to relax and finally enjoy her time with her family. She still wishes she could talk to Brittany, or even have brought her with but, she's managed to survive so far. They end up playing for the better part of two hours before dragging their sweaty tired bodies back to the house.<p>

"Great game guys, definitely whipped this old man into shape."

"See dad, he admits he's an old man, why can't you?" Mr. Lopez swings his arm towards his daughter which she quickly dodges and counters with a swift punch to his stomach. They play fight as they walk up the hill in the backyard to join the rest of the family. They're ducking and jumping from punches, Santana manages to get around her dad and jumps on his back, screaming when he starts to spin around. Her arms tighten around his shoulders even though she feels the tight grip he has on her legs so she doesn't fly off.

Mrs. Lopez eyes her husband and youngest daughter watching the way they laugh and fight. It's something she's seen for years, the interaction between those two is something she never had with her own father. Shaking her head she leans towards her sister, "I swear you'd think she thought she was a boy with all that rough housing. I don't understand why he just allows it."

"Yeah, sometimes I worry about Tierney. She just seems like she is getting through doing the bare minimum. I think she might be on drugs or something. Thankfully you have Jamie and I have Miguel." The women nod and clink their glasses of wine together.

"So, is it nearly lunch time? What's on the menu?" Miguel hops up onto the deck his mother is on and reaches down to pull Santana up. She could easily walk around where the land levels out but why waste all that effort when her cousin is more than willing to hoist her up? She looks to her mom and aunt, waiting for some kind of response but only notices the judging looks they're giving her.

_Great, I wonder what my mother has told her._ "So, no lunch? Cool. I'll just go inside and eat my arm until dinner... we ARE having dinner right?" Miguel laughs despite the scolding looks they're given.

"Yes smart ass, lunch will be done in twenty minutes we're having barbecues, is that okay with you princess?" Santana's nose crinkles with disgust at the name, she knows her mom is full aware of her dislike for the word and is using it on purpose to try and get under her skin.

Instead of allowing the word to get to her, she straightens up, sticks her head in the air and with her best british voice replies, "why yes your majesty, that sounds awfully delightful. Please excuse me for I must use the loo." She raises her arm, waves it like a beauty queen and walks towards the door, Miguel and Tierney close behind, in full hysterics, mimicking the wave which only cracks the three of them up more because Miguel looks like a complete idiot trying to act like a "proper lady."

Tierney grabs onto Santana's arm, "man S, I don't know how you have the balls to say shit like that to your mom but it's amazing!" Miguel hums in agreement, still trying to control his amusement.

"Yeah well, she wants to be a bitch, then she'll get shit thrown back at her. I'm sick of dealing with her judgmental bullshit and feeling like I can't be who I am." Tierney nods, eyeing her cousin closely, hoping to see a spark of something underneath the tough facade she's insistent on keeping, but sees nothing.

* * *

><p>Santana's happy when her parents holler that they should get ready to leave. The rest of her night wasn't too bad, and she managed to avoid any more altercations with her mother and sister but she's far over doing the required conversations with her family about school and boys and what she does with her time. She's done with awkward silences and hearing how her other cousins are budding sports stars and have the best grades, blah blah blah.<p>

She's ready to be home. Ready to talk to Brittany and feel like she isn't suffocating. Ready to feel like she actually belongs somewhere, with Brittany. Ready to get back to school so it can be over with and her summer laying around the local pool and lakes with Quinn and Brittany can officially begin. Now all she has to do is survive the ride home.

* * *

><p><strong>Things will get fluffy, I promise :)<strong>


	22. Chapter 22

**I'm so sorry this took so long, I just moved to Los Angeles so I was super busy getting read and then have been gallivanting around with my parents and sister for the past week so, no time. But now I'm here, settled and the parents are gone (thankfully) so I should have plenty of time until I find a job haha (I do things backwards sometimes) Please _please_ let me know what you think. Thanks. (Also, I don't own Glee or its characters, just this story).**

* * *

><p>Monday morning comes quicker than Santana likes, but she's excited to see her friends, namely Brittany, again. They'd gotten home late, and Santana had a lot of homework left to do so she didn't get to talk to Brittany or Quinn.<p>

When she gets to school, both girls hug her tight and tell her about their weekend. Santana tells them of hers and how crazy her cousin Tierney is. When the bell rings, Quinn waves goodbye, leaving Brittany and Santana behind.

Brittany starts to walk away until her arm is yanked backwards by Santana. When she knows she has Brittany's full attention, she finally quells the confusion all over Brittany's face. "I wanted to thank you for the letter. It definitely made my weekend a million times more bearable. You're amazing!" Santana slides her arm to link with Brittany's, tightening her arm and leaning her head against Brittany's shoulder.

Brittany kicks her leg behind her to hit Santana's butt, "no prob baby cakes. I know how rough it is with your family sometimes and how things can get out of hand. Well, except with your dad because he's awesome, but ..." she shrugs, not wanting to say anything bad about Santana's family, relieved when she sees Santana nod.

"Yeah. I'm glad my cousin Tierney was there, her and her brother made things a lot more bearable. But nothing like the letter." Brittany's face nearly blinds Santana. She imagines it's the same smile Brittany's parents received when they told her she could have a kitten. Even if that stupid cat is now a completely intrusive bag of annoying, she imagines Lord Tubbington was probably really adorable as a kitten. It's an image Santana is sure will not leave her mind anytime soon, nor does she want it to.

* * *

><p>When the week ends, Santana is more than exhausted. Teachers are assigning final projects and cramming their brains with as much information as possible. Even though it's only mid March, they seem to want to get a head start on projects, requiring the research be done in a matter of two weeks, listed and documented. Santana hates that they are only allowed one internet source and have to actually spend time in the library. She hates the library, shelves full of books she'll probably never use again, chairs that are so uncomfortable it's as if no one wants the students to stay there and don't get her started on the fact that there's practically no room to sit with a few books.<p>

"Hey sweet cheeks! You seemed kind of grumpy gills today, everything okay?" Brittany leans against the locker, her hand gripped on the strap of her backpack.

"Yeah, I'm just annoyed with school. I'm so ready for it to be over with!" Santana groans and throws herself into the lockers, she rubs her head with one hand, her other barely holding onto her bag. "Do you think we could hang out this weekend? Maybe you can come over tonight or tomorrow?" Santana's voice is hopeful but hesitant as she puts her hand in her pocket to hide her crossed fingers.

"S, I didn't get to see you all last weekend, do you really think I wouldn't plan ahead for this weekend?" Brittany pulls Santana down the halls towards the doors where Mr. Lopez is already waiting for them. "Hey there!" Brittany bounces over to the open passenger window.

"Well, good afternoon Brittany. I assume you will be joining us this evening?" Mr. Lopez smiles and reaches back to push a few of his things off the backseat.

"Yes sir, if that's alright with you. I already asked my mom and she said her and my brothers would be gone again for some baseball thing for my brothers, early training or something."

"Well surely your dad would miss you this weekend, right?" Brittany shakes her head as she slides into the backseat and tosses her bag between her feet with a dull thud. "That sounds awfully heavy Miss Pierce."

Santana falls into the passenger seat, her bag mimicking the sound of Brittany's. "Ugh, yeah, B and I have some crazy projects coming up. These teachers are seriously annoying!" Brittany giggles in the backseat, amused as she listens to Santana grumble about the "inhumane amount of homework" the teachers have given out.

"Well, then I guess you girls should go straight to your room and get on it for the rest of the weekend. I'll put trays of food at the door for each meal time. In fact, maybe I should invest in a lock on the outside so you don't go sneaking off-"

"DAD!" Santana smacks her dad's chest, turning towards Brittany to roll her eyes and elicit another round of giggles from the blonde. "We will get our work done, I promise." Brittany's hand slips between the seats, her pinky sticking straight into the air. Santana looks from the little finger, to her dad and back. Mr. Lopez laughs, pulling his hand from the wheel and linking his pinky with Brittany's, he looks towards his daughter and raises his eyebrows.

"Come on San, you gotta pinky promise!" Brittany nudges her friend with the linked hands. Santana rolls her eyes and joins in on the pinky linking. "Good! Now let's go!" Santana shakes her head and realizes they've pulled into her driveway.

* * *

><p>"Ugh! This is the worst homework EVER!" Santana tosses her pencil across the bed and shoves her math book to the floor. "Hey B, let's take a break. We've been doing this for nearly an hour... on a FRIDAY! I know we made a deal with my dad but I don't want to waste the rest of the day doing stupid equations or boring research." When Brittany doesn't even bat an eye to her request, Santana decides to take it up a notch and slips off the bed to where Brittany is laying on her stomach in front of the bed. "Briiiiittttyyyy! Pretty Briiiittyyyy!" She wraps her arms around Brittany and lays her head on Brittany's shoulder.<p>

Brittany turns her head enough to see her friend out of the corner of her eyes. "You really want to take a break? What do you want to do?"

Santana sits back, a large smile on her face, "I dunno. Anything. Please B, I'll do anything you want if we can just be done for the day. We can finish all of it Sunday, I swear! I'll help you if you need it." Brittany frowns, her eyebrows creasing as her eyes drop to her lap. "No! I mean, not that you'll need it. You're amazing, but I mean, even I need help sometimes so I thought if you needed or wanted, we could help each other and it would be done faster." Santana stumbles through her words, hoping she said what she needed to bring the smile back on her best friend's face. When Brittany closes her english book and puts it in her bag, agonizingly slow in Santana's opinion but either way, she knows she's won.

"Anything I want huh?" There's a sparkle in Brittany's eyes that Santana has never seen before which is making her very nervous. She tries to pull back but Brittany's hands are quick to grab them and hold them in place. "I'm gonna stand up, but you better hold on tight. If you let go for any reason I'm calling my dad and telling him to pick me up. That includes your legs once I'm standing I expect them to be off the floor since I'm taller than you. I don't bend backwards." She winks.

"WHAT! How is that fair? What if my hands slip or I'm about to fall and need to catch myself so we don't end up in an ankle twisted, massively bruised pile on my bedroom floor!" Despite her panic, she still keeps her hands gripped around Brittany, choosing not to risk letting go and having her friend leave her so soon.

"I guess you'll just have to trust me." Brittany leans forward slightly so she's in a better position to stand and swing Santana around her back when she does. "You ready?" Santana nods, her grip tightening so much that her face is practically molded into Brittany's neck. Santana screams as Brittany shoots upright, her legs instinctively wrap around Brittany's waist. Brittany laughs as she feels Santana's hot, terrified breath on her neck. Some part of her, and she's not sure which part, her heart or something else, buzzes with the feeling of Santana being so close.

_This is normal right? I mean, piggy-back rides can make a person feel like they have been electrocuted right? Not that I've ever been electrocuted. I mean I've gotten shocked when I've plugged things in but not really __**electrocuted**_. _They say you can feel it in your whole body and I definitely feel this everywhere._ _This is nothing like being shocked by a plug. I wonder if Santana feels the same thing. What if she's electrocuting me. I mean she's cute... and that's part of the word right? Can electricity be cute? I should really find that out. It's too bad my research report isn't on electricity! Either way, this is a great feeling, I don't know why people freak out about being electrocuted. _

"B? Is there a reason we are still standing in the same spot?" Brittany's body shivers when she snaps from her thoughts at the sound of Santana's voice whispering in her ear.

"Is there a reason you are whispering?" She counters.

"Um.. well, you just seemed deep in thought and I didn't want to interrupt but I can only hold on for so long before my arms and legs get tired."

"Right, sorry. Um, no we are going on an adventure... to the back yard! It's really nice out for spring time and I want to enjoy it before it gets too hot. Plus, I think your dad is making dinner so I wanna see what we are having." Brittany takes off down the hall and, to Santana's surprise, easily makes it down the stairs and to the kitchen with Santana fully intact on her back.

Santana and Brittany stop in the entry way and watch as Mr. Lopez pulls a couple of partially thawed chicken breasts off of a plate in the sink. When he turns towards he counter, he smiles at the girls and slaps the chicken onto the cutting board. "Well, hello girls, done with your work? I'm making chicken and pasta for dinner." His eyes look towards Santana who is peeking over Brittany's shoulders. He takes note of how she has her arms wrapped around Brittany, and how Brittany's hands seem to be absently rubbing his daughter's ankles that are locked in front of her. "Your mother has to work late tonight so I thought this would be easier to heat up when she gets home."

"Sounds and smells great dad. We're going to go outside apparently. My trusty steed here is going to take me wherever she pleases." Santana slides one of her hands up to pretend to pet Brittany's head and leans forward, cupping her hand to the side of her mouth, "I'm apparently at her mercy." Brittany pinches her legs and jogs out of the kitchen, waving to Mr. Lopez as she goes. "Call us when dinner's ready!" Santana hollers just as they slip through the patio door.

"So now what B? Am I allowed on my own feet yet?" Brittany whips her head back and forth nearly knocking Santana in the face quite a few times.

Brittany gallops over to the swinging bench a few feet away from them and squats down so Santana is seated. "K. You can let go now." Once she's free, Brittany takes a seat to the left of Santana and starts rocking the bench. "See, isn't this fun? It's nice out here and it's starting to get lighter, soon it'll be summer and we can get a tent and camp out in the yard. Maybe not your yard, there are too many little hills, but we can totally camp in my yard! Except you have a fire pit which is like, the BEST for camping because you can make s'mores!"

Santana slides closer to Brittany and wraps her arms around Brittany's right arm. "Shhh B. I thought you said you wanted to enjoy this. We can talk about summer camping when it gets closer."

_It's fricken __**freezing**__ out here! I really hope dinner is done soon so we can go back inside. At least I have Brittany's body heat to keep me warm. I should've told her to keep me on her back, I was so warm wrapped around her. I really need to figure out what body wash and shampoo she's switched to, it's definitely new and is crazy intoxicating. Being that close to her... What am I thinking? Body wash and shampoo? This isn't... I can't... but she's my best friend and that's fine. It's fine, right? This is entirely normal! _

"GIRLS! Dinner!" Mr. Lopez's voice echos carries through the backyard but Santana doesn't hear any of it. Brittany turns and watches Santana's eyes move behind her lids, her forehead creased and her bottom lip is pulled in, her teeth grating across it. Instead of startling her, Brittany stands up, and slips her arm out of Santana's grasp. Santana's head snaps up at the loss of contact.

"Dinner's ready San." Brittany's voice is soft, as if she doesn't want to jar Santana in her post-pensive state. Santana follows Brittany back inside, still trying to clear her mind of her previous thoughts. She's so caught up in her head that she ends up colliding with Brittany in the doorway. "Cuties go first." Santana steps back to allow Brittany entrance.

Brittany smirks at the gesture but doesn't want to allow Santana this chivalrous gesture. "Yes, but Adorable comes before Cute. You know, gotta be alphabetical."

Santana tries to hide the light blush as she laughs under her breath. "I'm not adorable B."

Brittany steps closer, nearly stepping directly on Santana's toes. "How about Beautiful?" Santana takes in a shaky breath, and nearly chokes as she tries to swallow the knot in her throat. Brittany's voice is laden with so much emotion that Santana isn't used to hearing. This night is definitely becoming something much different than she had intended, and yet, whatever it is, fits. She looks up to find eyes shining as bright as the stars that frame her face. It may not be humid yet in the early spring of Ohio, but she's certainly having trouble breathing anything but thick, hot air.

"Um.. ye-yeah. Um..." Her eyes flutter closed as Brittany leans closer.

"GIRLS! It's getting cold!" Mr. Lopez rounds the corner to the patio just missing as the girls jump back from each other and fall into the walls adjacent the door. "Coming?" Santana and Brittany nod and walk past him to take their seats at the table. _Uh oh, something has happened. I've never seen these two so awkward before. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen Santana this awkward ever! This dinner maybe far more interesting, and not just because I've added an extra spice to my chicken._


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry for the delay, I have no excuse other than my birthday happened but that's only 1 day and this should've been done already.  
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**I've been working on this one all day. (You can ask adoltaffair if you want proof lol) Had some serious issues getting the ending, which was the whole purpose of this chapter. Please excuse any typos, I did a quick read through but sometimes I miss things. I hope you are all happy with what transpires. *I don't own Glee.*  
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><p>Mr. Lopez watches as the girls dish out their pasta and take the pieces of chicken from the dish. Neither of them speaks a word or looks at each other. Usually one of them makes a joke or pretends to toss food at the other. He can tell, however, that Brittany is itching to get back to that but knows that Santana isn't. So instead she takes her food in silence and sits back in her chair next to her friend.<p>

_I really hope she's not mad at me. I didn't mean to do that. Well, I did, I mean, she just looks so cute when she gets all flustered and I just really wanted to kiss her to make her unflustered but it seems like trying to do that made her MORE flustered. Maybe kissing makes her flustered, the last two times she kissed me she got all funny too. Maybe it's me? Maybe I make people feel weird when I kiss them. I mean, some of the guys squirm around when I've kissed them. Oh well..._

"So, what's new girls? Anything fun coming up at school? Making plans for the summer yet?" Both girls shake their heads and shove pasta into their mouths. Brittany eyes Santana briefly as she takes a sip of her water. Santana mindlessly spins the pasta around her fork, lifting it up and watching it fall off before doing it again.

_She tried to kiss me. She called me beautiful. She almost KISSED me! My best friend tried to kiss me and yet I didn't move away. In fact I'm pretty sure I leaned forward. It's probably a good thing my dad called for us or this would be one different kind of dinner. I can't imagine what would happen if my dad saw me kissing Brittany. Holy shit, what if my MOM was home and saw that. I mean yeah, my dad is cool and probably wouldn't care but my mom would KILL me! I'd be banned from seeing Brittany and I can't do that. I just can't have her taken from me. Even if I would like to kiss her... wait..._

Brittany watches Santana blink slowly but make no indication of speaking. She decides if Santana isn't going to talk, she might as well keep some kind of conversation going or this will be the most awkward dinner in the history of Lopez dinners, including any dinners when Mrs. Lopez is home.

"My art class has a really cool final project coming up. Painting a picture that tells a story without actually making it obvious that you're telling a story. I thought it was going to be really hard when I saw it on the outline at the beginning of the semester because how do you tell a story but like, not tell it." Out of the corner of her eye she sees Santana's lips curl up a little which pushes her to continue. "It just seemed so confusing, but after going to the art museum in Chicago I totally get it." Brittany whips her arm out and nearly knocks her glass of water over. She turns when she hears a choked laugh next to her and sees Santana covering her mouth attempting to hide her amusement, but the small wrinkles next to her eyes are enough for Brittany to know she's smiling.

"Well I'm glad to hear that Brittany." Mr. Lopez pauses for a moment, trying to decide if he should transition to something that might light a fire in Santana, even if it's more of a _land mine_ topic. "So, anyone at school catching your eyes these days?" Just as he expected Santana nearly chokes on her piece of chicken, her eyes darting to her father. "Santana, what have I told you about literally inhaling your food, I know you know it's just a saying." Brittany giggles despite the glare Santana gives her. "Well? This question is open to either of you." He looks between both girls, his right eyebrow raised and an amused grin on his face as he waits for a response. He doesn't really expect one, but sometimes it's fun to see how much information he can get out of the girls before they realize what they're saying. _Parenting Tricks 101_

"I don't know. I mean, I liked Mike, he was cool but then we broke up and I liked this basketball player but he's a terrible kisser and-"

Santana's head snaps towards Brittany. "Wait, what basketball player? I don't know anything about you dating a basketball player."

"Duh silly, I didn't date him I just made out with him. Kissing isn't dating, that's what the freshman girls on the dance squad said." Brittany sits upright in her chair, trying to mimic the stature of the older girl, "if you make out with a guy it's not a big deal, but if you do anything else then you have to be careful because they'll get the wrong impression. " She slumps back down a bit, biting her lip for a moment as she thinks about what she'd just said. "I don't understand that at all because I'm not pushing them, nothing is being pressed."

"I don't think they mean that kind of impression Brittany." Mr. Lopez smiles, _people really under estimate her sometimes. She's much smarter than they know, she just gets her meanings a little messed up, nothing wrong with that._

Brittany sighs and shakes her head. "Um, yeah. I still don't get it but anyway, no. I mean I think I like someone but I'm not sure about it because I don't know if I'm allowed to or not. I'm not even sure if I like them like that or if they're just really cool. It's so much more confusing than the art thing and the impression thing combined!"

_She likes someone? Why don't I know about this? She's my best friend and she hasn't told me she likes someone? Why wouldn' t she tell me? I bet it's that kid that sits behind her in her math class, she told me he's been helping her during quizzes. He probably thinks she's stupid and wants to date her so he can make fun of her with his friends later. I'm gonna find out who that jerk is and give him one hell of a Lopez greeting on Monday. No one messes with MY Brittany. Wait..._

"And I'm assuming by your silence that you aren't going to answer because I'm your dad and that's just like.. totally weird." Mr. Lopez throws his hands up in mock disgust and scoffs, pretending to do his nails. As much as she wants to fight it, as soon as Brittany burst out laughing, she joins in, happy to have the distraction from her own thoughts.

Taking a deep breath to try and control herself, Santana swats at her dad, who is still using his invisible file. "If you weren't married to mom I'd swear you were gay! Although sometimes I wonder how _anyone_ can be married to her so maybe..." This time Mr. Lopez swats at his daughter.

He smiles at both girls, standing from his chair and starts grabbing the items from the table. "Are you girls done?" When they both nod, he adds their dishes to the pile and turns to walk back towards the kitchen with an exaggerated sashay. Santana shakes her head as she stands up. "Just bring everything else in and set it on the counter, I'll clean up the mess." He hollers over the clanking of dishes in the sink. Santana loves when her mom isn't home. She doesn't have to do the dishes. Even when Brittany is here, she still has to help out in the kitchen and Brittany either offers to help or sits by herself until Santana is done.

"I can get it San." Brittany's voice is barely above a whisper, "I don't know what you want to do now, but um.. I can help your dad clean up if you'd rather be away from me for a while."

"What? No!" Santana takes a deep breath, setting down the glass she had picked up. "I'm sorry dinner was awkward. I'm sorry about earlier. How about we take this stuff into the kitchen and either go back outside or watch a movie. Unless of course you wanted to go back to the boring school stuff." Santana walks around the table, grabbing as many items as she can so that Brittany doesn't have to take as much. There's only a few things left on the table anyway, her dad has always been pretty good at taking more than logically possible in one trip.

"No way!" Brittany stumbles over her chair narrowly missing Santana. "I think I'm good with staying inside though, but I don't know if I want to watch a movie, can we play a game?" Brittany looks down at her feet, feeling a bit childish for wanting to play a game but sitting next to Santana with the awkwardness just doesn't seem like an enjoyable activity. She follows Santana into the kitchen, only carrying her own water glass.

"Yeah Britt-Britt, we can play a game. I don't have many, but we can see what we have." Santana links her arm through Brittany's as they walk out to the living room to check the cabinet for a possible game. Mr. Lopez sighs, happy to see his "girls" getting along again. As much as he wishes his own biological daughters would get along, he's happy his youngest daughter and fake daughter are okay again.

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><p>"Vinegar, 68 points! Boo-yah!" Brittany stands up and dances around the room taunting Santana. "You know, for someone who's favorite subject is English, you're kind of terrible at this game. I mean, jam? Really?" Santana sits, her arms folded tightly across her chest, her eyes squinted into fine slits, and her lips puckered as she glares at Brittany. "You know, when you make that angry face, your nose kind of twitches. It may just be the most adorable thing about you."<p>

"Britt, I'm mad at you, not trying to be adorable! How did you just beat me?" Santana switches from angry to pouting.

"Nope, I was wrong, THIS is the most adorable thing. Bad ass Santana pouting because she lost a game of Scrabble. But just so you know, you're terrible at utilizing your tiles." Santana tilts her head to the side, waiting for Brittany to explain. "Jam would've been a great word had you taken advantage of the triple letter or triple word score spaces. This game is more than just knowing words, obviously or I wouldn't have just beat you, it's about strategizing." Brittany pauses for a moment, watching Santana process this possibility. "You should also wear sunglasses when you play."

Santana laughs. "Why so people can see my tiles off the reflection? No way."

Brittany shakes her head. "No, I never thought of that." She smirks and leans forward, as if what she's saying is secret, "I meant because I knew where you were gonna go a couple of times, your eyes kept going back to the same spot. Watching it to make sure I didn't go there."

Santana sits back and her jaw drops, "you CHEATED!" She jumps forward, tackling Brittany to the floor, effectively pinning her down. "No wonder you stole my spots! You're gonna pay for this Pierce! I'd demand a re-match but now I know I can't play this game with you anymore!" Santana digs her fingers into Brittany's sides, poking at places she knows are Brittany's most ticklish spots.

"Ahh, San, stop! I didn't- take ALL- of them! I was nice about it!" She squirms to get her arms free from the lock Santana's legs have around them. When that doesn't work she bends her legs, plants her feet and lifts her torso up into the air until she can slide her arms out to rest on her elbows.

"What the hell! You have like super human strength!" Santana falls off to the side, pulling her feet in so Brittany can lower herself back down.

"Nah, just really strong legs from dancing. I once accidentally kicked my youngest brother across the room when we were pillow fighting. He had me trapped on the couch and when he came at me I just kicked my legs out. Thankfully he had a pillow in front of him that absorbed most of the force but... yeah he went flying." Santana doubles over in laughter trying to imagine this scene in her mind.

Santana moves over so Brittany can sit beside her against the couch. "That's the best thing I've ever heard, I wish I could've seen it. Did he get hurt?"

"No but the wall did. You know where the TV stand is along that side wall?" Santana nods, "well, behind that, there's a crack and dent in the wall. My parents still don't know about it. I was babysitting and we freaked out so we just told my parents we wanted to rearrange things and that's why it was moved."

"Damn B, you're a little sneaky liar aren't you? What other tricks are up your sleeve I don't know about? I feel like I'm finally learning the truth about miss Brittany S. Pierce!" Brittany shrugs but smirks and winks at Santana before standing up and holding her hands out for Santana. "Where are we going?" She surprised once again by the force that Brittany uses to pull her up.

"Downstairs to watch a movie. Beating you at scrabble kind of wore me out, I need to relax a bit." Brittany skips down the hallway towards the door for the basement.

_Such a jerk._ Santana laughs and chases after her, missing the amused smile of her father who had watched the last couple minutes of their interaction. If he didn't realize something before, he's certainly learning a lot tonight.

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><p>Santana wakes up with her head rested on Brittany's stomach. At some point during their movie marathon both girls must have fallen asleep and moved into this position. Brittany is on her back, her head on the arm rest and one leg off the side of the couch. Santana is pressed into the back of the couch in the middle, her legs hanging off the other end with one arm tucked underneath and another wrapped around Brittany's waist just below where her head is resting on Brittany's stomach. She can feel Brittany's hand against her back and when she looks up, sees her other arm is folded underneath her head. She should feel uncomfortable, she knows that, she's always uncomfortable on this couch if someone else is laying on it. Even when she dated Puck, they'd be comfortable at first but then she'd have to move, but for some reason, right now she isn't.<p>

"Britt." She whispers, trying to sit up without knocking Brittany off the couch. When she manages to get up enough to lean on her arm, she nudges Brittany a little harder.

"Yeah?" Brittany's face scrunches as she begins to wake. "Sorry I fell asleep."

"Don't worry so did I. Want to head upstairs to my room? I'm pretty sure my bed is more comfortable than this little couch." Brittany sleepily nods and slides off the couch, dragging her feet as she follows an equally lethargic Santana up both sets of stairs to her room.

Santana throws on a pair of shorts, strips off her shirt and bra, leaving her in a ribbed tank top and as she's about to head out to brush her teeth catches a glimpse of Brittany's bare back and blue boy shorts. Before she is caught, she quickly runs from the room.

Midway through her bathroom routine, Brittany steps beside her and begins to brush her teeth, smiling over her toothbrush, a small amount of toothpaste leaks from the corner of her mouth. When Brittany's tongue sticks out to catch it, Santana quickly turns away, grabbing a wash cloth from the closet.

_Keep it together Lopez, just because you almost kissed earlier doesn't mean she actually wants to kiss you again._

The tired girls from minutes before have long been forgotten as they fall onto bed.

"Damn I was exhausted earlier but walking up stairs and getting ready for bed seriously woke me up!" Santana groans, bouncing her legs up and down, not bothering yet to slide underneath the covers. Brittany nods, leaning her head against the wall behind the bed. "So..."

"Sooooo, what?"

"Have you made out with a lot of guys and not told me?"

"I dunno." Her shoulders lift up to her ears and pause for a moment before they drop down. "I didn't think I was supposed to, are we keeping track to see who we've all made out with? Should we made a list, maybe rank them?" Brittany starts to get off the bed to grab paper and a pen but gets pulled back by Santana.

"No. Never mind. I was just curious what I don't know about you. It seems like tonight has been something very different. Just forget it, we should probably sleep. I'm sure the exhaustion will hit us again soon enough." Santana hops off her bed and shuts of the light once she motions for Brittany to get under the covers. Brittany clicks on the lamp so Santana can find her way back to the bed. Even if Santana knows her way in her own room, Brittany says she feels safer turning on a light for her, in case floor monsters decide to attack her feet. It's childish and she knows it, but it makes Santana smile so she keeps doing it. Sometimes Santana will play along and pretend she's jumping over something, or hops from a far distance onto bed, _you know, just in case._

Once Santana has safely made it into bed Brittany turns off the light and scoots down into the covers.

"Night Britt. Thanks for staying here this weekend, even though you're a Scrabble cheater and a sneak for not telling me you already planned on spending the weekend here." Santana turns her head to give Brittany a kiss on the cheek.

Brittany turns just before the kiss, making sure her head is fully turned before Santana can notice the movement and pull away. As their lips meet, Brittany's hand reaches out and holds Santana in place. She can feel Santana's breath catch, her head try to pull away and how her eyelashes flutter open then close as she succumbs to the feeling. Brittany can feel her own heart race, her own breath stagger into the kiss. She's not sure what possessed her to turn when she did, to grasp at Santana's neck and keep her in place. All she knows is that she is kissing Santana and if they _were_ going to rank all the people Brittany has ever kissed, even though this kiss has only been strictly lips, it easily breaks into the number one spot.

The electricity she felt when she had Santana on her back earlier has heightened to an extreme amount. It doesn't hurt like an electric shock would, instead it buzzes through her entire body like when she, Quinn and Santana hopped out of Santana's hot tub last winter and rolled around in the snow before jumping back in and everything just tingled as it rapidly heated back up. It shuts off all of the thoughts she had running through her mind earlier. Just as she starts to enjoy this feeling, she realizes her grasp on Santana has loosened. Santana pulls away but keeps their heads rested against each other as she lets out a heavy breath.

"Um..."

"Good night Santana." Brittany leans forward and pecks her lips once more before turning to her side and pulling the covers up.

"Um..."

Santana lays back on her back and stares up at the ceiling, her breathing is still erratic as her mind races and tries to process what just happened. Brittany just kissed her, and not accidental like all those other times, this was intentional. Santana's mind races. _What does this mean? Why did she kiss me, and like, almost kiss me earlier? Was it because we were just talking about kissing? Did she really want to kiss me or was it just because the topic of kissing got brought up? Why did that kiss feel better than any kiss I've ever experienced in my whole life? What if... what if.._ Santana's eyes close as her thoughts wear her out.

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><p><em>Cars pass by as I sit in the small wicker chair next to my parents who are in the white wicker couch thing on our porch.<em>

_I take a deep breath, "Mom, Dad, I think I'm gay." _

_My dad leans forward, resting his hand on my leg which is bouncing uncontrollably. "Are you happy sweetheart?"_

_I nod, but keep my eyes on my hands in my lap, "yeah dad, I am."_

_He sits back in his chair for a moment then I feel his eyes on me again. "Does this have anything to do with Brittany?"_

_Shit. Busted. "Yeah..."_

_"Well, as long as you are happy sweetie, then I'm happy." He leans closer and whispers, "I kind of knew already." My eyes bulge out of my head for a moment before I realize my dad and I aren't the only ones in the room._

_"Mom..."_

_*silence*_

_I lean forward trying to get my mom's attention. "Mom... Do you have anything to say?"_

_She doesn't move, her head still looking out toward the road. "You aren't going to get one of those haircuts are you? Like the woman down the road."_

_"A flat top? No mom, I'm not going to change my hair or start wearing flannel or join the softball or golf team. Still me, just... into girls. Or, more so, Brittany."_

_There's a very long, very tense awkward pause where no one looks at each other and my eyes start to water. "Well... I hope you don't expect me to tell anyone about this. And I wouldn't tell your grandmother if I were you."_

_There go the floodgates. I can't take this anymore and get up to walk out, my dad following close behind._

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><p>Santana sits up quickly, she wipes at the sweat on her face until she realizes it's not sweat but tears. The collar of her shirt is wet from the tears that must've fallen during her dream. <em>It just seemed so real! Gosh, what the fuck! I'm so screwed if this is one of those dreams that tells me things. I really hope my dad really reacts this way. <em> Santana looks over to see if Brittany woke up, once her eyes adjust to the dark she sees Brittany is laying on her side facing her, a serene smile tugging at her lips, her nose scrunching every so often. _This girl may be the death of me. I need to go to sleep before every thing starts to come back and kick my ass again. _ Santana lays back down and faces Brittany, hoping the adorableness of her best friend will lull her back into sleep and keep the thoughts at bay. After an agonizing five minutes, she can't get the image of her mom's disdain out of her head and sneaks out in hopes that splashing some water on her face will calm her down.

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><p><em>"Hey baby!"<em>

_"Hey San!" I turn from my locker and wrap my arms around my girlfriend and pull her in close, our lips glide across each other as people pass us by in the hallway._

_"I've missed you all morning. It sucks that we don't have any classes together. Fuck this High School scheduling junk, I want my girlfriend time scheduled into this." I smile as she pouts and crosses her arms in protest. _

_"Maybe you shouldn't be such a smarty pants and take AP classes." I stick out my tongue, slipping my hand into hers as we walk out of the building._

_"Maybe YOU shouldn't be so sexy. It's hard enough to concentrate when I know what waits for me after school."_

_"Oh, so you'd rather I be ugly? Should I let myself go, and start wearing baggy jeans and shirts that haven't been washed in weeks?" I smirk at her disgusted face and know that I've won this fight._

_"NO! No no baby, you are just fine as you are, no need to change a thing!"_

_I wink as I drop into the passenger seat of her car. "You know...you're lucky I love you." She stops her hands from shifting out of park and takes both of my hands into hers, her chocolate brown eyes looking right at me._

_"You're right, I am. I have to pinch myself every day to make sure this isn't a dream. I'm so glad I met you in junior high, you're my best friend, always have been, always will be. But even better is that you are my girlfriend, MY girlfriend and no one else's."_

_"Awww baby Sanny doesn't share well." I joke and she swats at me. "You know I've always been yours."_

_"I love you Britt."_

_"I love you too San. So much." I lean forward and let my fingers get lost in her hair as my lips press to her._

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><p>Brittany's eyes flutter open, she sighs and pulls her blanket closer to her, needing something to hug. When the blanket gets up to her nose, she gets a strong whiff of Mrs. Lopez's laundry detergent and remembers she's at Santana's. She can hug Santana since she is, after all, the reason Brittany is in such a blissful mood. Reaching her hand out gently, so she doesn't wake her, Brittany's arm falls flat onto cold sheets and her eyes adjust to the empty pillow with a Santana head size dent next to her. When her eyes come to full focus she notices the spots of water on the pillow. <em>Santana was crying. Why was she crying and where did she go?<em> Brittany pulls the covers back and sets her feet on the black rug stretching quickly before creeping towards the door and slipping into the hallway, noticing the thin trail of light coming from underneath the bathroom door. _I really hope Mr. or Mrs. Lopez didn't have to get up in the middle of the night_. _This could be awkward._

She knocks lightly on the door, listening for movement or some kind of response. When she hears nothing, she tries twisting the handle, surprised that it opens.

"San?

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><p><strong>Please review, let me know what you think. If the kiss wasn't good enough for you, don't worry. This won't be the last of the sweet lady kisses. ;) <strong>

***much love readers***


	24. Chapter 24

**So here's what you've missed on LTT Glee:**_ Santana and Britt kissed, it was amazing and then they both had interesting dreams as a result, but they were very different dreams._

**I own nothing. I am sincerely sorry for the delay in my updates. Editing videos for a personal trainer is awfully time consuming. I had the first scene written for nearly 2 weeks but it wasn't enough to give you guys so I have been diligently working to give you something more. This is slightly unedited so forgive me.  
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**One last thing, the last chapter got the most views/reviews from you readers and I cannot even begin to tell you how thankful I am for that. The more you review, the more I am inspired to write (**despite the delay in posting**).  
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><p>"San?" Brittany walks slowly into the bathroom. Santana is sitting on the floor against the bathtub, her head in her hands. Brittany isn't sure if she's aware of another person in the room so continues to walk carefully towards her. "Sanny?" Brittany sits opposite Santana against the cupboards under the sink, her legs stretched out in front of her which end up resting next to Santana's hip.<p>

Santana still doesn't move, even when Brittany tries to nudge her with her foot. Brittany takes in a shaky breath, not sure how to approach this. She'd just had the most amazing dream, but it seems like Santana had the opposite. How could she go from blissfully happy to completely shattered, how is she supposed to deal with this sort of thing?

"Hi." She barely hears Santana's voice, it's weak and choppy.

"Hi." She responds, still not sure how to approach this situation. "Are you okay?" Santana lifts her head from her hands, tear stained cheeks and still very watery eyes look back at Brittany. She fights the urge to reach out and wrap her arms around Santana, to wipe the tears from her face and do anything she can to make her feel better. She knows enough to not smother her, this is different from when Santana thought she was failing her science class and had a small panic attack in the bathroom during lunch.

"I don't know what to do Britt. I just..." Santana breaks down once more and this time Brittany ignores everything and slides forward pulling Santana into her, squeezing as tight as possible.

"Shhh, sweetie it's okay." Brittany runs her fingers through dark hair trying to soothe her best friend.

Santana pulls away, wiping furiously at her face. "No, it's not! This can't be happening!" Brittany's brows furrow in confusion. "You kissed me Brittany, like actually kissed me!"

Brittany smiles at the memory, "yes, I did. Is that bad? Are you mad at me?" Brittany slides herself back towards the cabinets. "I'm sorry Santana. I didn't mean to upset you. I just thought because we almost, well, I just thought it was okay."

"You weren't thinking Brittany, if you were you would realize how bad this was. How much trouble we are going to get in and how it's going to ruin our lives!"

"I don't understand. How would that ruin your life?" Brittany's voice is scratchy, she's on the cusp of tears and Santana's heart breaks at the sound but she remains strong.

"Because Britt, my family will disown me. My dad might not, but everyone else will and I can't even begin to think what will happen at school!"

"But how do you know that-"

Santana's head snaps up, her brown eyes meeting light blue, both trapped in a watery mess. "I had a dream about it Britt! I dreamt that I told my parents and my mom barely said anything and all she _did_ say was a bunch of bullshit criticisms!"

"San..."

"No Britt, I don't know what's going on!" Santana pulls her knees up to her chest.

"Santana, just listen to me for a second, I had a dream too." Brittany slides back across the floor to sit next to Santana. She waits to make sure she has Santana's attention and when she sees her turn her head to rest on her knees she continues. "I dreamt something completely different. I dreamt we were in high school and we were dating and you missed me and we kissed and no one cared."

"Really?" The hopeful sound in her voice was small, but Brittany could notice any adjustment in her tone and easily picked up on that one. She nodded, trying to give a reassuring smile despite the wrench on her heart.

"Yeah, you called me baby, and you were really cute. I'm really sorry what I did made you have a bad dream, I never meant for that to happen I just really wanted to kiss you earlier and then your dad yelled for us about dinner and then yeah... So when you said something about kissing boys and then didn't want to talk about it and wanted to go to sleep I thought I might never get a chance to try it again so I just did and I'm really really sorry Santana." Brittany bit her lip nervously, waiting for some kind of response. After what seemed like an eternity, she felt Santana lean her head against her shoulder.

"How come we had such different dreams Britt?"

She shrugged, trying to think of an appropriate answer. "I don't know. I've heard that dreams are like your brain telling you secrets or something. It doesn't make complete sense to me because it's like if my brain is telling me a secret wouldn't it be something I already know?"

Santana smiles, "it amazes me how smart you are sometimes."

Brittany looks towards her feet, tapping them gently on the cupboard door. "I'm not smart, if I was, I wouldn't be having troubles with school."

Santana turns her body fully towards Brittany and takes her hands. "Britt, you are very smart. Book smarts are only one kind. Quite frankly I'm glad you're a different kind of smart. Book smarts are creepy." Brittany opens her mouth to comment on how Santana is, "I'm only slightly book smart, there are a few subjects that I just don't understand. We both have a unique kind of intelligence. But this is why we are best friends."

It hurt both their hearts to hear that. Sure, it was true, they were best friends, but in their hearts they knew they wanted to be something more than that.

"So, what now? I mean, do you like me? Did you like kissing me? I don't really know what to do in this situation." Brittany's fingers fidget with Santana's, tracing wrinkles and scars she's already memorized.

"I don't know. I mean yeah, I'm pretty sure I do and I did." She sighs, "I don't know what to do either B."

Brittany thinks this over for a moment, "well, we can still kiss right? I mean, it's like the older girls said, kissing isn't dating right? That way you don't have to worry and we can be super secret. It'll be like a best friend secret that we share." _If I have to settle for this just to keep getting that electricity, I'll do whatever I have to do._

Santana smiles at the offer. _This could work, we could be secret, as long as she's okay with this, why couldn't we just be secret sweet lady kissers? That's actually really fun terminology. Sweet lady kisses. Best friends who kiss, that seems normal... oh shit...speaking of best friends._

"So what about Quinn? Do we tell her? I mean what would we even say, like, hey Quinn your two best friends kissed each other and might do it again, hope you don't mind if you accidentally see their sweet lady kisses." Santana rolls her eyes as she watches Brittany's fingers play with her own. "I don't think that would go over well. But I'd feel terrible if we kept this from her."

"Well..." Brittany pulls one hand out of Santana's and taps her chin then balls her hand and hits the side of her head, "think. Think. Think."

"Winnie the Pooh, B? Really?"

"Well if you are going to be all _oh bother_ like Eeyore then I might as well be Winnie and figure this out." Santana laughs at how adorable her friend can be, even when she's being a smart ass. "But Santana, can we go back to your room and think, I feel kind of weird hanging out on your bathroom floor in the middle of the night." Santana nods and hops to her feet, reaching down to pull Brittany up. AS soon as Brittany stands, Santana yanks her closer and wraps her arms around her in the tightest hug she could ever give.

"You're my best friend Britt. Always always."

* * *

><p>Brittany wakes feeling like her legs are trapped, for a brief moment she panics until she realizes that, while her legs are technically trapped, they are simply stuck underneath Santana's. She also realizes that Santana's head is resting on her shoulder, one hand gripping the front of her shirt.<p>

Instead of talking when they'd gotten back to the room, the girls ended up falling asleep as soon as they'd hit the bed. Fortunately, there were no more dreams to disrupt their slumber and Santana was okay when Brittany wrapped her arms around her and kissed her forehead good night. She didn't want to chance another series of conflicting dreams and figured a forehead kiss never did any harm in the past so it was easily a safe option.

Brittany's eyes focus on the brunette snuggled up into her. She takes a deep breath, hoping to quell the butterflies that are apparently having a rave in her stomach and chest. She smiles as Santana's head nuzzles more into her when her chest falls with her exhale. This only fuels the rave once more.

"San." She tries to turn her body, thinking maybe the movement will wake her friend and they can actually talk about things before they have to deal with day one of hiding their new addition to whatever they were now. No matter how she moves, Santana ends up moving with her.

"Girls! It's time to get up! There's waffles and eggs in the kitchen that are getting cold!" The door handle jiggles but doesn't open. "Santana sweetie, why is your door locked? You know how I feel about locked doors in this house." Brittany scrambles to her feet, not even caring to be gentle with Santana as she does.

"Hi Mrs. Lopez." She greets, swinging the door open with a cheery smile.

Mrs. Lopez takes a step back, an awkward smile playing at her lips. Brittany thinks it's some kind of smile scowl mixture. Either way it's definitely enough to kill the buzz she'd been trying to fight off earlier. _New buzz kill, Mrs. Lopez. Noted._ "Um, hello Brittany. Are you girls up yet? Breakfast is ready."

"Well I'm up but you know your daughter, she can pretty much sleep through anything. I'll get her up though no worries. Sorry about the door. I went to the bathroom last night and must have locked it by mistake. I started having to lock my doors at my house because of my brothers. Must've done it out of habit." Mrs. Lopez nods, her brow furrows as she takes a breath, her mouth opening as if she's about to give another order but instead she just shakes her head and points to the bedroom then downstairs. She nods once more and disappears down the hallway.

Brittany closes the door and jumps back on the bed, purposely bouncing right next to Santana, hoping it'll jostle her out of sleep.

"Ugh, I know i know, breakfast is downstairs, blah blah blah. Can't I just sleep a little bit longer?" Santana rolls over and shoves her head underneath her pillow.

"Nope, not after I just had to greet your mother so she didn't break down the door. I'm up and very awake and so you should be too. You don't really have to be fully awake though, I'm pretty sure you can waffle it up with a small amount of effort."

Santana laughs into her pillow. She tries to figure out why she's so tired, she feels like she slept like a log. When she remembers the minor detour in her sleeping pattern she sits up, nearly knocking heads with Brittany. "We um... and you... and then I ... but you did too and... "

"Well, I hope waffling takes less effort than talking or we're screwed!" Santana shakes her head, and slaps her cheeks hoping it'll wake her up. "Stop freaking out, let's go downstairs, eat breakfast, keep up this exhausted act and maybe they'll leave us alone. If not, we'll just talk about something they have no idea about, like ... how annoying Mrs. Greene is and they'll just walk away like they always do when we go off on a rant."

"Ugh, I really didn't want to have to think about Mrs. Greene or anything school related this morning but thanks for that." Santana pushes her self off the bed and pulls on a hoodie. It's not cold in her house, but on the weekends, no matter what the temperature is outside, she always throws a hoodie on before going downstairs.

"Well, it got you up didn't it?" Brittany hops off the bed and joins Santana by the doorway. "Don't worry about last night or early this morning, we will talk about it later and no one has to know a thing. Even Q if you don't want to." Santana nods, her eyes still slightly closed, fighting sleep even as she's standing. "Hop on my back and I'll carry you down, just don't fall asleep and drool on my shirt." Brittany teases, turning her back to Santana so she can hop on.

* * *

><p>"Ah I see the trusty steed has returned." Mr. Lopez laughs seeing his daughter barely holding on to the tall blonde. "You might want to be careful I think your rider has fallen asleep on you there Britt."<p>

"I'm not sleeping, I'm comfy. Britt-Britt is strong, I don't need to hold on, she holds on to me! That's why she's a _trusty_ steed." Santana taps Brittany's shoulder and hops off her back when Brittany bends her knees to let her off gently. "See, she even lets me dismount with care." Santana looks around the kitchen and notices only two plates are laid out on the counter.

"Your mother and I had breakfast earlier, she's on her way over at your abuela's to clean. She said something about spring cleaning the floors and what not." He waves his hands around as he flips a few waffles onto the plates. "She also said you girls could help if you'd like, I'm headed over there shortly. I just need to pick up a few things from the store before I head over if you're interested." He leans in close to the girls and looks around him, "although, between you and me I'd stay here if given the choice but shhhh, don't tell anyone." Santana and Brittany laugh and stick out their pinkies to swear themselves to silence. "Good, now eat!" He leaves and they hear his footsteps upstairs.

Brittany licks some of the syrup from her mouth and notices Santana is silently dripping the syrup from her fork into the little squares on the waffle. "So are you going to be okay today? I can go home if you want. I don't want you to be uncomfortable with what happened last night." Santana sets her fork down on her plate and pulls her lips into her mouth.

"Yeah. I'll be fine B, you don't have to leave." Santana purses her lips and takes a deep breath, "I don't want you to leave. Like I said, you're my best friend, always always. No matter what. Just... let's not tell anyone anything yet, okay? After that dream I had last night it's kind of freaked me out from telling anyone anything especially since I'm not even sure what it is yet. Is that okay?"

Brittany smiles, leans over and wraps her arms around Santana. "Yeah San, that's perfectly fine with me. As long as you aren't mad at me I don't care what we do."

"Well, I'm a little mad that you just surprise attacked me with that last night but I think I'll get over it." She laughs and pushes Brittany away, turning back to her waffles with a renewed energy.

* * *

><p>Mr. Lopez left soon after they'd finished breakfast, promising to bring them back some lunch if they were hungry by then but from the way they devoured their waffles, he wasn't sure if they'd last until he got home. The girls took showers and decided to dig out a bucket of chalk from the garage. It was a perfect spring morning and neither girl wanted to waste it inside. Santana's drive way has large concrete squares in front of the two garage doors so they each took one to create their own personal designs.<p>

"I wish I was more artistic!" Santana grumbles, throwing a piece of yellow chalk into the grass. She looks over to Brittany's area and notices several small abstract drawings, when she stands up she's amazed to find they all connect together perfectly. "Holy shit B, how the hell do you do that?"

Brittany shrugs and finishes coloring in a green swirl before standing and walking over to Santana. "I'm drawing artistic and you are writing artistic." Santana's head tilts in confusion. "You know, I can draw things that look really cool and you write things that sound really cool. It's still artistic but just in different ways." Santana sighs and leans into Brittany.

"Your square still looks better than mine." Brittany laughs and looks over at the square where her and Santana's names are written, a yellow sun is wearing sunglasses and a cartoon-ish looking face is smiling up at them. "See, it looks like a first grader made this, not a seventh grader."

Brittany shifts to stand behind her friend and wraps her arms around her shoulders, her head rests against Santana's. "It looks cute. Obviously this is why I'm taking the art classes and not you." She tightens her grip on Santana's shoulders to keep her from whipping around and smacking her. The elbow to her stomach is definitely not something she anticipated and when she jumps back from the hit, she's immediately tackled into the grass. "Cheap shot Lopez."

"Deal with it Pierce!" Santana adjusts her position to sit on Brittany's legs, knowing just where to sit in order to keep her legs from moving. _The best thing about living in a neighborhood of boys, you learn how to efficiently pin someone down so they don't donkey kick you into a tree! _Brittany struggles underneath her, trying to twist her body to shimmy out but Santana's using everything she can to keep her in place.

"Feel free to give up anytime there Britt-Britt." Brittany scowls up at her, Santana's hands are wrapped around her wrist, pinning them to her sides. She's determined to figure out a way to win this, but she knows from the angle she's at, she's going to need some other tactic. A tactic that ends up presenting itself when she sees Jamie's car coming down the road.

"You might want to move Santana." Santana is thrown off by the gentleness in her voice but still doesn't move, she's not going to be tricked that easily into losing. Lopez's by nature are stubborn, and it only gets worse with each generation so Santana has a lot of stubbornness built into her genes.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Jamie's voice is like an electric shock to Santana. She jolts up and nearly collides head first into the big oak tree a couple of feet away. "I thought you were going to abuela's with mom and dad?" Jamie looks to her sister, then back to Brittany who is standing trying to brush the grass off of her back.

"Mom never told me we were doing that and dad said we didn't have to." Santana sneers, then smirks, "why, looking to have the house to yourself so you can sneak your idiot boyfriend in for a quickie without mom and dad knowing?" Jamie bristles at her little sister's tone, if Santana has learned the art of blackmail from anyone it'd be her and she knows it.

"No, asshole, I just didn't expect anyone to be here. I'm leaving anyway to go to work, I just came back to change my clothes." Jamie's eyes catch a glimpse of the chalk art. "What are you two, five years old? Let me guess, this one is Santana's" she laughs, gesturing to the ground. "And the one that actually looks good is Brittany's." Santana takes a deep breath, her fists balling at her sides, she takes a step towards Jamie and instead comes face to face with Brittany.

Her breath catches when she recognizes the similar position they were in the night before. This time it's daylight, in her front yard, with her sister four feet away. Her eyes shift around quickly making sure on one really notices the tension she's currently feeling. "Come on feisty, let's clean up and go for a walk or something. She'll be gone by the time we get back, okay?" Santana nods but she still needs to be pulled towards the array of scattered chalk. She catches Jamie's confused face as she walks into the house and pulls away from Brittany hurrying to collect all of the pieces of chalk and toss them into the bucket.

Brittany stands back watching, confused as to what just happened. The terrified girl from last night and this morning has made a return and she's not sure how much she can fix before the fear takes control of her best friend for good.

* * *

><p>After deciding to roller-blade instead of walk, Santana and Brittany collapse onto the couch in the living room, barely enough energy to grab the remote from the coffee table. Their legs tired and sore from the various terrain they'd gone over. Santana complained every time they rolled off of the smooth black pavement and onto the tarred gravel streets. Brittany just giggled saying the vibrations from the uneven surface made it feel like her legs were going numb. Now, after rollerblading a few miles, both girls' legs feel like jell-o and neither of them can catch their breaths.<p>

"That - was a - terrible - idea." Santana said, leaning to the side falling further into the couch, "I don't even know how we managed to take our blades off and get inside." She looks towards Brittany when she hears giggling. Brittany is pointing at their feet where both of them are still wearing their roller-blades. "Oh shit. Well, that explains why my feet felt so heavy when I tried to lift them. We should probably take these off before my mom gets home or she'll kill me." Neither girl moves except for Santana who just leans into Brittany's side. She feels Brittany kiss her head and wrap an arm around her before she's slightly pushed up and back into the couch. "What are you-" Brittany leans down and flips the latches on Santana's roller-blades, a contented sigh coming from Santana's lips as soon as they are pulled off. When Brittany has hers off she stands up and grabs all four into her arms, looking to Santana for further direction. "Laundry room. Just dump them in there."

Brittany returns to find Santana fully laid out on her back, her arm reaching for the remote but continuously coming up short. "This could very well be the cutest thing I've ever seen." She giggles, walking closer to the couch and takes a seat on the floor near where Santana's arm is out stretched. Santana whines, points to the remote and claps her hand together like a toddler asking for a toy. "If you really think I'm going to give you the remote like that, your brain must be as numb as your legs." Santana's arm drops and she lays there for a moment before she decides to take another tactic, a new found strategy she's never been gutsy enough to try. With as much energy as she can muster, she slides her body down the couch so her head is next to Brittany's. "Don't even think about it Santana."

She stops and rests her head on Brittany's shoulder. "What?"

"You know what." Brittany turns her head and kisses Santana's nose then leans forward and grabs the remote, making sure to keep it far from Santana. "And because you first, acted like a child and then even thought about flirting your way into getting what you wanted, I'm taking over control of the t.v. until you sincerely apologize." Brittany scoots down and out of Santana's reach, looks over her shoulder and rethinks her position on the floor. She crosses the room and plops down in the recliner, her legs dangling over the arm rest.

Thirty minutes into some show on arctic animals, Santana can't take it any longer. Even if Brittany looks unbelievably cute as she mimics the waddling of the penguins from her seat and giggles when they fall to slide on their stomachs. She watches as Brittany's nose scrunches when the baby penguins, in their dusty fuzzy bodies scurry to their mothers, her head tilting back and forth with them; and how she hides her eyes when the mother regurgitates into the baby's mouth. She's about to cave and apologize when the show cuts to polar bear cubs playing in the snow and suddenly Santana's eyes are glued to the screen.

Much like Santana, Brittany watches as her best friend giggles and squeaks over the adorableness of what's on the screen. She wants to teach Santana a lesson about how, even if they've kissed and aren't really set on what is going on between them, she can't treat her like some boy she can manipulate with her eyes and sexy sultry voice, even if it would probably work.

_Best friends shouldn't manipulate each other. Yeah, that's the reason. Not the fact that I would much rather kiss her right now because she's hugging a pillow like a stuffed animal and has that dimple in her cheek that only really shows when she's genuinely smiling. Ugh... I don't even know what to do about this. I know I told her we could be super secret about this and I can totally do that, but now I don't know if I'm allowed to do anything while at her house, but like, not in her room. I mean her parents aren't home so that's okay right? As long as no one else is home that should be okay right?_

Brittany stands up and walks over to the couch, when she sits, Santana doesn't even acknowledge her, she's still too focused on the screen. Brittany sits facing Santana and waits while she watches the clock to time out how long it takes for Santana to realize she's being watched. Even during commercial break Santana still stares, a wide smile fully intact. Brittany thinks maybe the cuteness put Santana into some kind of coma. _Time for shock therapy_. Brittany grabs Santana's face and kisses her hard on the lips, it's a one sided kiss for only a second before Santana's lips press against her and she feels hands gripping at her waist.

"Finally!" Brittany laughs, pulling away and leaning against the couch. "I thought you went into like some kind of cuteness overload! You were like one of those princesses that needed a kiss to wake up or something. I mean, I may not be true love or a prince or whatever but it seems like it worked."

Santana smiles sheepishly, "Sorry B. We should probably do something else before this show comes back because if it's polar bears again, I'm gone. If it's penguins, you're gone. We either need to change the channel or get the hell away from this TV."

"Girls! We're home!" Santana stands up and walks towards the door at the sound of her father's voice. Her hands lace behind her, as she forces a smile to cover the nervousness she feels.

_What if my dad had gotten home a minute earlier and saw that kiss. What if my mom just walked in, she never announces herself and I swear that woman is a fucking ninja with how quiet she walks sometimes. If this whole kissing thing is going to continue we'd better be fucking careful! I don't need my family having a spazz attack about this. It's not like it's really anything anyway. Right? I don't even know what to do. All I know is, kissing her makes me feel warm and cold all at the same time, it clears my head from everything that is circling around. I've never felt so completely comfortable and terrified balled into one, it is without a doubt the most dangerous combination I've ever felt. Then again, I've never been one to shy away from a dangerous situation, in fact, I'm pretty sure I welcome them with open arms. Hopefully this situation isn't an acme bomb where I'm the coyote._

* * *

><p><strong>I will be anxiously biting my nails for reviews. So hopefully if you read this you'll save my poor nails and fingers and review :)<br>**


	25. Chapter 25

**Darling reviewers, thank you so much. I was worried about the last chapter but you have all restored my faith in the story. Without further adieu here is more :) ** excuse any typos or grammatical errors.. actually let me know if you see any so I can fix them immediately, but other than that don't let them deter you**  
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**Adolt-Affair, I think we are officially even but I know you are right on my heels :)  
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><p>Mr. Lopez wraps his arms around his daughter when she walks up to him, he looks over her head to Brittany who is standing in the doorway. "Lovely artwork in the driveway girls. I almost decided to park in the street so I wouldn't ruin it."<p>

"Well you could've parked over mine, it sucks anyway." Santana mumbles into his chest.

"And ruin that cool looking sun? No way!" Santana pulls away and looks up at her father, wondering how he knew which one was his. "You learned the sun drawing from your sister, anytime you have chalk, that's kind of your go to drawing. That, and cartoon faces." Santana laughs and shakes her head at her artistic predictability.

"Did you have fun at abuela's? Is mom still there? What did you bring for lunch?" Santana walks over to lean against the counter, nodding her head to tell Brittany to join her.

"Oh, always fun over there," he replies, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "no, your mother should be on her way home, she said she was leaving a few minutes after me and I just stopped at the store and got a frozen pizza and some sandwich stuff, I figured you girls could decide which one you wanted. Did your sister ever come home?"

Santana looks at Brittany, "sandwich or pizza?" Brittany shrugs, she noticed Santana's panic as soon as her dad got home. She's not sure how she can act right now with him home, if she can still stand near her like she used to or if Santana will shy away from her. She hates feeling unsure and forces a smile even though she knows that Santana can see right through it.

Santana eyes Brittany for a moment, trying to figure out what is going on in her friend's head. "Sandwiches then," she turns back to her father, "and yes, Jamie came home to change her clothes and now she's apparently at work."

"Good. Well, you girls know where the stuff is. I'm going to go work outside and enjoy this lovely weather, holler if you need anything." The girls watch as he walks out the door to the backyard.

Santana walks to the fridge and grabs the miracle whip, lettuce and tomato even though she doesn't like tomato, Brittany does.

"Santana?"

She looks up from spreading the condiment onto two pieces of bread. "Yeah B?"

"Why did you panic when your dad came home, we weren't doing anything."

Santana bites her lip and takes a deep breath, "because what if he had gotten home earlier when we _were_ doing something. What if he saw. What if it was my mom who came home instead of my dad. Britt, I realize this whole thing is new and awesome but we need to be careful. I'm too young to be living on my own."

Brittany walks over to her friend and wraps her up in a hug. Santana stiffens in the embrace.

"Relax S, it's just a hug. Your parents aren't going to think anything from just a hug." She feels Santana's body relax slightly, and her arms weakly reach around. "There, see, completely fine, nothing wrong with a hug. Let's finish up these sandwiches and go back outside or something." Santana nods and pulls back, smiling at Brittany and pulling out two more pieces of bread for Brittany to start her sandwich.

* * *

><p>Santana and Brittany spent the rest of the afternoon outside watching Mr. Lopez prepare his garden for planting. Neither of them thought it was logical to already be planting but apparently early in the season is perfect for certain things so they just watched as he dug up the soil and killed bugs with the end of the shovel. It may have been the grossest but most amusing thing they'd seen in a while. Both of the girls were glad they'd finished their sandwiches before any bugs were squished.<p>

When Mrs. Lopez came home, she went right into cleaning around her own house. Again, the girls didn't see the logic in leaving one house after cleaning all morning just to come home and continue. To them, relaxation seemed like the better idea, but neither of them wanted to comment about it to her out of fear that they'd be roped into the whole thing.

After a long day of working, and watching people working, they all decided to just go out for dinner.

They're sitting around a circular table waiting for Jamie to join them after she gets out of work. Santana and Brittany talk about homework they have yet to do and how excited they are for summer vacation in a month and a half. Mrs. Lopez comments how she has several ideas for home improvement projects that can be done while everyone is home and how they are going to renovate Jamie's room when she leaves for college in the fall.

"Could you _not_ think about re-doing my room while I'm still living in it?" Jamie sits down next to Santana and shoves her over so she's nearly sitting on top of Brittany. A slight blush creeps onto Santana's cheeks which doesn't go unnoticed by her sister, or Brittany.

"Well, I was just thinking of tearing out that old carpet and maybe putting some wood floors in, that's all. I'm not going to turn it into a work out room or anything. But hello dear, it's nice to see you too. Glad you could join us." Mrs. Lopez says, rolling her eyes at the rude nature of her oldest daughter.

Jamie plasters on her best fake smile, most likely learned from her many years on the pom & dance team, and being one of the more popular girls at school. "Hello family and Brittany. How is everyone?" She doesn't actually acknowledge anyone's responses, having already directed her attention to her menu.

Once they've ordered, Jamie starts off on a rant about customers she had to deal with at work and how she can't wait to get out of the "gross small town" environment and into the bigger city at Ohio University.

"Well, glad to see you'll be missing us dearly." Mr. Lopez jokes leaning back as the waitress places his california burger in front of him.

Santana laughs at this, but quiets as soon as she feels her sister's gaze set upon her.

"Did you guys see Santana's lovely artwork in the driveway when you got home? Don't you think she should consider taking an art class when she gets to high school?" Santana grits her teeth, her nose snarling and her eyes squinting. Brittany sees her hands grip the seat, knuckles turning white. She wants so badly to reach out and pry Santana's hands away from the seat and hold them in her lap, to wrap her arms around her friend, kiss her cheek and tell her not to worry but after the incident in the kitchen earlier, she knows that would make things worse.

"Yes, about that, can you please wash that off when we get home or right away tomorrow?" Mrs. Lopez grimaces, remembering what she'd drove over earlier in the day. "I can always buy you a sketch pad or something if you need a place to draw things. I don't think taking over the driveway is the best place for that kind of thing." Santana's jaw drops. She'd expected some kind of parental support on this, but she knows she shouldn't have.

"It's already cleared off dear." Okay, maybe she was wrong but she swears she saw it when they'd left. She looks to her father then to Brittany trying to see if maybe she was just going crazy.

Brittany leans over to whisper in her ear. "I told you, he's on your side, even when you think he isn't." Brittany's pinkie slides into hers, her other hand stabs at the noodles on her plate, trying to get more than two on the fork along with a mushroom. It's a simple gesture to Brittany, something they do when reassuring the other, but to Santana, it felt like something bigger. They aren't holding hands but with their pinkies linked, they may as well be. She loosens her grip on the seat and grabs her fork to continue eating.

Mrs. Lopez shakes her head, still very confused and certain she had seen the drawings when they'd pulled out earlier. "Well then, never mind, I guess you don't have to do anything then." She smiles when the waiter places a glass of cabernet in front of her.

_Good, the more she drinks the less likely she is to find out the drawings are still there, now if only we can get Jamie to not rat me out._

"So Jamie, plans for after dinner? I'm sure your _boyfriend_ is wondering where you are, it's been what? Ten hours since you've seen each other? He must be a mess without you!" Santana smirks when she all but sees steam come from her sister's ears.

Mrs. Lopez sets her fork down, her eyes boring into Jamie who is trying very hard to not reach over and strangle her sister or stab her with her fork and knife. "Jamie, what have we told you about that boy? He is _bad news!_ I can't believe you are still seeing him, I thought we were very clear about your association with that boy."

"Yeah mom, I get it. He's a bad influence, I should just cut him lose. Whatever, can we just eat in peace, I actually do have somewhere to be tonight, final project for this stupid physics class I _had_ to take."

Mr. Lopez raises his eyebrows in disbelief, slowly wiping his mouth with his napkin. "You're working on a project on a Saturday night?" No one at the table believes this story has any truth to it and are all very interested to see how she works her way around it.

"YES okay!? Andi and I are partnered up and she's going to be super busy tomorrow with some stupid churchy thing an it is due on Monday so we have to finish it. This the only time we can work on it since I had to work today and then decided to be a good daughter and show up to dinner." Santana isn't stupid enough to believe it, but it seems her parents are, or they just don't want to create more of an ordeal than has already been created.

Mrs. Lopez smiles, "That's fine honey, if you're done you can head over there now so you have more time to get it done and done well."

"No sense rushing things if you can have time to get it done properly." Mr. Lopez adds with a grin. Jamie rolls her eyes at her parents' apparent need for her to do well on a stupid class that she'll never need in the future. "Have fun learning." He adds as she gets up from the table with a _thanks_ and a wave to the others.

"You do know she's not doing a project right? She's completely lying to you." Brittany nudges her, giving her a _what are you doing_ look but she just shakes it off. "The seniors go on a field trip to six flags for physics, that's why she took it this year and not last year."

"We know honey. We weren't born yesterday." Mr. Lopez smiles, handing the waiter his card as soon as the bill comes.

"I'm confused, so you just let her go? Just like that knowing that she's probably going to meet up with what's his face?" She looks to her mother, "you're okay with this?"

"Trust me darling, I'm not okay with any of this, but also trust that when she's caught, she will learn that lying to your parents is not a very good idea." Santana's stomach drops. _Why did she say that and look directly at me? Does she think I'm lying about something? Does she know about me and Britt kissing? _

Brittany can sense the panic radiating off of Santana, she's hiding it well, but Brittany knows what her mother said set something off that is connected to her earlier panic. _Oh my little Santana, why are you so worried? We aren't really doing anything wrong! Your parents have no idea and even if they did I think your dad would be awesome and your mom would just deal with it. It hurts my heart that you worry so much. I would do anything to make you not so worried. Maybe I can find a way to make you not so worried or to show you that it's okay. Kissing isn't dating even if it makes me happier than I was that one Christmas when my parents gave me Lord Tubbington in his little box with a tiny toy mouse between his paws. Cutest thing EVER, but then I met you and now you're the cutest thing ever! Cute things shouldn't be sad or worried, even if you're still cute when you are those things._

"Santana is super honest Mrs. Lopez. Jamie may be a bit untruthful sometimes, but Santana is super honest, you did well with this one." Brittany panics as she thinks of the implications of her words, "I mean, not to say you didn't do well with Jamie because she's really cool too but I mean-"

Mr. Lopez laughs, "It's okay Brittany, we understand. Santana is our good daughter, fortunately for her she has Jamie's mistakes to learn from." He smiles at his daughter, his foot nudges hers under the table. "She's a good kid and picks good people to surround herself with, like you and Quinn. I was almost worried with that Puckerman boy but it seems that's been settled as well." Brittany beams at the compliment, happy that she's seen as a good part of Santana's life. She didn't doubt that she was, but sometimes it's nice to have a reminder from those that have a bigger part in Santana's life. However, these compliments are only from one half of the Lopez's. Mrs. Lopez is sitting silently in her seat merely nodding a long with what her husband is saying with an obviously forced smile.

"Shall we go kids?" She asks, taking the last sip of her wine before gathering her purse and jacket from beside her.

_I'm the good daughter. Good daughters don't kiss their best friends. Good daughters don't wish they could kiss her again and again. Good daughters date good boys and get good grades and don't screw up. Good daughters listen to their parents and don't make them upset. Then again, I can learn from Jamie's mistakes and not have sex with boys and not do drugs, that's still good daughter material right? One indiscretion of repeatedly kissing another girl isn't going to taint my status is it? NO, good daughters date boys. Good daughters date boys but are just smarter about the activities that they do with them. Good daughters DON'T kiss their best friends... even if they want to... even if they know they are going to again before they go to bed tonight... even if they want to lay listening to the beating heart of this friend, to smell the distinct scent of her laundry detergent mixed with the musty smell of her house that never seems to disappear from her clothes. It's unique just like she is. It's happiness._

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><p><strong>I'm going to be honest, I thought this chapter was longer before I uploaded it but I didn't want to leave you all waiting so long because I had most of this written 2 weeks ago and got caught up in other things to finish it. Please let me know what you think so far, I'll get to writing Ch 26 soon and hopefully can avoid the BS that I've been dealing with lately to get it up soon.<strong>


	26. Chapter 26

**Holy shit, I've been working on ch 27 all this time thinking I had this chapter up already. Turns out I didn't. So sorry! but bonus to you all because now you'll be getting 2 chapters today :)**

Sunday came too early for both girls. Santana had used the rest of Saturday night helping Brittany finish up any homework she didn't understand and Sunday morning, Mrs. Pierce was in the driveway by 9:30 AM waiting for her daughter. The weekend went by too fast and yet, it seemed like so much had happened in those few days. Questions were answered and more were brought up. Fears surfaced and floated at the front of Santana's mind while Brittany just shrugged them off like she does most things she doesn't care to understand.

Santana chooses to spend the rest of her day finishing homework and getting a head start on some others so she has less to do by the time the end of the year comes. It's not her usual style, she generally loves waiting until the last possible minute but with all of the thoughts and feelings that surfaced, she desperately needs something to distract her mind. When she finally snaps out of her zone, the sun is already setting and her stomach is grumbling so much it almost vibrates her whole midsection.

"That's the grossest thing I've ever heard." She jumps at the intrusion and looks over to see Jamie standing in her doorway. "Have you eaten at all today?" Santana shrugs as she stands up and packs her school things away. "What's gotten into you? You've been kind of jumpy this weekend and you're actually doing homework in advance. Mrs J's reports are never due until like the three weeks before summer and I'm pretty sure I just saw you almost finishing yours."

"Maybe I just want to get it out of the way so I don't have to worry about it, what difference does it make? Why are you in my room?" She places her hands on her hips, waiting.

"You're my little sister and something is bothering you. I can tell, if you don't want to talk about it that's fine but you really should. I'm guessing it has something to do with Brittany since she was here all weekend and you still look like someone is trying to twist your neck. Maybe you should talk to Quinn, she probably knows things about Britt that you don't yet."

"There's nothing about Britt that Q would know and I wouldn't!" Santana's hands fly to her mouth, her eyes bugging from her head as she panics thinking she may have accidentally given away too much. "I-I- I mean, Britt and I talk about everything. I'm pretty sure we know each other inside and out."

Jamie's eyes squint as she examines her sister for any cracks in the wall she seems to have built up. She tries to find a way to break in and figure out just what, specifically, is going on. She knows she doesn't really care, why would she care about some thirteen year old's problems that will probably go away by next week. Even if it is her sister. Something about this seems like it's more than just a fleeting issue. Ever since her family came back from their trip to Chicago, the vibe around her sister has been different. She assumed her sister was just upset over something their mom had said. She's had plenty of moments where her mother has said something to upset her, and she knows that her mom and sister don't exactly see eye to eye on most things, but this time it was different, this time it lasted longer than a few days.

"Are you just going to stand there or...what? I'm pretty sure I smell grilled chicken and you heard my stomach so if you'll excuse me I'd like to feed it." Santana tries to side step her sister but there isn't enough room between her and the dresser to get to the door.

Jamie thinks back, trying to decipher what could have happened to cause this shift. _Chicago, Brittany, mom's lesbian joke - Wait... _

"Are you gay? Like legitimately gay?" Santana's head whips to her sister, no longer planning her escape route.

_Think and do it quickly Santana. _"No asshole I'm hungry, now _move_." She pushes past her sister, not caring that she basically just shoved her into the wall, and possibly the door handle. Her breath catches in her throat as she tries to keep from having a full blown panic attack at the top of the stairs. _This can't be good. If Jamie can think something like this, who knows what other people think or already think! Maybe my mom was right. Maybe our friendship is too... something. I still maintain that Britt isn't stupid and that I'll kick the crap out of anyone who tries to argue that but... maybe we should calm it down a bit._

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><p>Monday morning, Santana pulls herself out of her dad's car and forces her body towards the school. She slept like shit the night before, worried about what was going to happen when she got to school. Would Brittany try to kiss her? Would she have accidentally told someone because she was so excited? What would they tell Quinn if she found out? Too many questions with no answers.<p>

"Damn 'tana you look like a walking zombie." Quinn is the first to find her at her locker. "Did Britt keep you up all night this weekend or something? I know she can be kind of a handful." Quinn laughs thinking Santana would take it as a joke but her amusement disappears when Santana slams her backpack into her locker. "Whoa... what's going on?"

"I just didn't sleep very well last night. Britt was fine, nothing I can't handle. Speaking of which, have you seen her yet?" She tries to remain calm, so far it seems that Quinn is non the wiser to the weekend's events but maybe the girls just haven't seen each other yet.

Quinn nods, hesitantly as she keeps her eyes trained on her friend. "Yeah we talked at our usual spot this morning and I just saw her at her locker when I headed over here. I'm sure she'll be here any second, she was super excited that you helped her with her math homework, apparently it's starting to make sense now."

Santana smiles, proud that she can be the reason for Brittany doing better and understanding at least one of her problematic classes. From the corner of her eye she sees the unmistakable blond hair skipping down the hallway and the pride quickly turns to fear.

"Oh shit, I have to go talk to my english teacher quick before class. I'll catch you guys later." Santana grabs a few folders and books then walks off, slamming her locker behind her.

"Um okay... see you later." Quinn waves and turns to head to class when she runs into Brittany, mid-skip, both girls falling to the ground.

"I'm so sorry Quinn, I was skipping and then I saw Santana leave and I was too busy watching where _she_ was going that I didn't see where _I_ was going. Are you okay?" Brittany pulls herself to her feet and scrambles to find all of her papers that had fallen out of her folder.

"Yeah Britt, I'm good. Are you okay?" Brittany nods and helps Quinn gather her things too, pulling her up after she stands and brushes herself off. "For a school you'd think the floors would be cleaner after the weekend." Quinn mumbles.

"Where did Santana go?"

"Something about needing to talk to her english teacher about something. I don't know, she's acting weird. Let's just go to class."

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><p>Quinn takes her seat, pulls out the worksheets that are due and notices a piece of notebook paper tucked between them that she doesn't recognize. She does, however, recognize the handwriting as Brittany's. Looking around her she notices no one is really paying attention as the teacher starts class and gives them five minutes to finish up anything they may be missing on the worksheet.<p>

_I really shouldn't read this. But what if it's a rough draft of a paper she's working on, she'd want someone to help her make it better wouldn't she? I'm sure Santana probably would look at it too, but another pair of eyes wouldn't be too bad right? _

She sets her worksheets aside and lays the paper flat on the desk in front of her.

_**Dear Santana,**_

_Uh oh, I really shouldn't read this._

**I hope you aren't upset over what happened this weekend. **

_Yeah I REALLY shouldn't be reading this._

**But kissing you was probably the best thing I've ever done. Kissing other boys just doesn't feel the same and like I told you the pom girls said kissing isn't dating so we don't have to tell anyone. I know you are afraid of telling anyone, even Quinn. I won't say anything I promise but I think we can trust Quinn she's been my best friend since grade school. **

Quinn shoves the obviously private, unfinished, note back into her folder. Her head is pounding from the new information. _They kissed? Girls aren't supposed to kiss, that's wrong, isn't it? But Brittany trusts me to be okay with this. What am I supposed to do? Do I tell Brittany I found this? Do I tell Santana? What would I even say? Do they like each other? _

Quinn doesn't have a lot of time to answer her own questions, as the teacher asks for the assignments to be passed up. As much as she tries to concentrate on the information being written on the overhead, her mind isn't processing anything other than _Santana and Brittany have kissed_ which, when she looks down at her notes, those five words are the only thing written.

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><p>By lunch time, Santana has successfully avoided and ignored Brittany, only speaking to her when it was school related and brushing her off whenever Brittany tried talking about the weekend.<p>

"Quinn, have you talked to Santana? She isn't really talking to me and I _really_ need to talk to her." Brittany is on the verge of tears, her hands are fisted in the pockets of her sweatshirt as the two girls wait in line.

Quinn shrugs, keeping her focus on the people in line ahead of her. "I'm sure that it's fine Brittany. I've noticed Santana has been really weird lately so who knows."

"But Quinn, what if I did something wrong, or what if when we..." Brittany takes a deep breath, knowing she can't tell Quinn about the weekend without talking to Santana first.

Quinn turns on her heel and lifts on her toes, her face directly in front of Brittany's. "Brittany, just let it go. She'll be here in a little bit and you can ask her while we eat alright?" Brittany is taken aback by Quinn's tone. _Now Quinn's mad at me too? She was perfectly fine this morning! What is going on?_ She knows she shouldn't feel like a child who refuses to eat their brussell sprouts but maybe it's her fault for spending so much time with Santana and not a lot with Quinn.

"I'm sorry Quinn. I just don't know what to do. Do you think maybe you and I could hang out sometime this week? Do homework together or something?" Brittany sticks out her tray for the lunch lady to slop on some mashed potatoes and slides down the line trying not to gag at the lumpiness of the off-white pile. Cafeteria food on a Monday is never a good idea but she forgot to put her lunch together the night before and was barely awake enough to make it on the bus in the morning. Thoughts of Santana and what had happened plagued her mind all night, she tried to write Santana a note but kept getting frustrated because it seemed like no matter what she said, it never came out right. After several attempts, she gave up and forced herself to go to bed.

"I don't know Britt, I'll have to talk to my dad tonight and see if you can come over. Something is going on with my brother and my dad's started to get really over protective of us."

Brittany sits, eyes darting all over the room in search of the raven haired girl she's been trying to catch the attention of all day. Quinn silently watches as Brittany gets more and more nervous and anxious. She's still battling with the thought of telling Brittany what she had found but maybe if Brittany knew that she knew, she'd calm down a little bit.

"Hey Britt..." Brittany turns her head briefly towards Quinn to show that she's at least half listening. "I um, I found something in my-"

"SANTANA!" Brittany pushes herself down the bench to give room for Santana, her smile brighter than the florescent lighting above them. Santana forces a smile and takes a seat next to Quinn. The cafeteria seems a bit dimmer when she does.

"Hey." Santana doesn't look up from her food, she doesn't eat it either, merely picks at the crust of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Brittany sits and watches with increased sadness, before remembering that Quinn was about to tell her something. "What did you find Q? I didn't mean to interrupt."

Quinn's eyes shift between her two friends, "It's nothing Britt, I'll just tell you later."

"Tell her now." Santana mumbles, flicking a crumb off her sandwich bag. "It's clearly something that involves me and you don't want me to know about it or something but you might as well spill. It's not like I wont' find out eventually anyway."

"Santana stop. It's not a big deal I can just talk about it later."

"If it isn't a big deal you should have no problem talking about it right now." Quinn and Brittany can see that Santana is fuming. The small destruction of her sandwich has progressed into a mangled mess of jelly and peanut butter.

Quinn leans back and pulls a piece of paper from her front pocket and hands it to Brittany who's eyes widen when she recognizes what it is.

"It must have ended up with my things when we collided in the hallway. Sorry." Brittany can't tell what exactly she's apologizing for. Did she read it? Does she know about the kiss? Is that why she's being weird?

"All this, whatever, over a stupid piece of notebook paper? Let me see." Santana snatches it from Brittany before Brittany can comprehend what is happening. Santana's eyes travel the paper several times before she folds it back up and sets it down. Her jaw clenches and unclenches, the table shakes from bouncing three sets of bouncing legs. Nerves envelop the girls for several different reasons. Quinn's waiting for the explosion of anger from her friend; Brittany the disappointment in having been so careless; Santana is trapped between fear, anger and shock with no way of knowing which one is going to break first.

"I'm so sorry Santana. I didn't know it fell out. I didn't even know I had it with me, I thought all of my drafts were crumpled in a ball on my bedroom floor." Brittany pleads, trying to reach out for Santana but stops when Santana moves to sit on her hands.

"Did you read it Quinn?" Her voice is calm and steady which only unnerves the two blondes. Quinn is too afraid to speak, her mouth moves but it's as if the words in her head got lost somewhere on the travel to her mouth. "Quinn, I'm trying very hard to keep a steady head so you may want to answer me." The calmness has been traded in for a shaky voice and tilt of the head in Quinn's direction.

"Yes. I read it." Quinn ducks her head down, bracing herself for the Lopez wrath.

"Did anyone else read it?"

"No, just me."

"Good." Santana stands with her half eaten lunch and walks towards the trash can. "If you two are done, we should head to the choir room." Brittany slides off the bench and disposes of her things, Quinn sits, eyes glued to Santana. "Can you please stop looking at me like I'm a science experiment gone wrong?" She finally snaps, turning her brown eyes into those of her friend, piercing them with every feeling trapped inside. It's enough for Quinn to follow Brittany's lead and then follow them towards the choir room.

* * *

><p>"So, you two have kissed." It's been five minutes since they'd gotten there, no one else is in the room so they are free to talk for at least another five minutes before anyone else starts showing up for class. Quinn, despite her best efforts to apologize, hasn't been very successful.<p>

"Yeah, this past weekend." Brittany answers. "But it doesn't mean anything. We aren't like dating or anything. Kissing isn't dating otherwise Puck would be dating most of the soccer team."

Quinn looks at her friend "What does this have to do with Puck?"

"Nothing really other than to prove a point. I saw Puck last week making out with three of the girls from the soccer team."

"I thought he was dating Melanie from your poms team?"

"He is, but like I said, kissing isn't dating, even Melanie said so.

Santana chuckles from the seat between them, "somehow, I don't think she knows that Puck "isn't dating" a lot of girls."

"So... you guys?" Quinn tries to steer their conversation back to the more important topics.

"Just kissed, that's all. It's not like we're gay or anything." Santana crosses her arms over her chest and leans back in the chair.

"Then why are you avoiding me San?" Brittany whispers, sending a small shiver down Santana's spine at the close proximity.

"I'm not avoiding you, I just... I think maybe we spend a lot of our free time together and I didn't want Quinn to feel left out so I decided to cut back a little that's all." She shrugs as if it's common sense.

"And you didn't think to notify me of this ahead of time?"

"NO Britt, I didn't think I had to, it's not like you're my girlfriend or anything!" The door to the room opens and Santana immediately straightens in her chair. "We'll talk about this later." She adds between gritted teeth, waving at the teacher and the two students who just walked in.

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><p><strong>This one is a bit shorter, the next one is longer, no worries. Let me know what you think :)<strong>


	27. Chapter 27

**As you saw from my last chapter, I've been working very hard on this one thinking ch 26 was already up. But, it was hard to write when the display on my computer was broken for 2 weeks. But I'm all fixed up now and ready to roll. (I know I could have written it out, but somehow my brain works faster when I'm typing) I also got an internship that has been sucking the life out of me (for no pay) so it has been really crazy. I'm going to try and get back into the swing of things. A big thanks to AdoltAffair for being amazing and reading some of this for me to let me know I'm not going crazy.  
><strong>

**Another big thanks to all the readers and reviewers. I hope I haven't lost you with my delay in posts. **

**So, enough of my yammering, you came here to read.  
><strong>

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><p>Santana continued to keep her distance from Brittany for the rest of the week. Despite Brittany's adamant attempt to try and convince her otherwise. When Friday came around Brittany had given up entirely. Having reserved herself to the silence and withdrawing into herself, she was starting to lose interest in her classwork and fell behind on two rough drafts of final papers.<p>

Quinn cornered Santana during their computer class, sick of seeing an anti-version of her best friend.

"You need to get the fuck over your issues and talk to Brittany. I'm sick of seeing the happiest girl on the planet look like someone told her Santa and the Easter bunny aren't real."

"Wait, she thinks they are real?" Santana smiled for a moment, losing herself in a dual image of Brittany huddled over her desk, as a child and now, writing fervently her list and probably some well wishes to Mrs. Claus and the reindeer. "Anyway, I will tell you what I told her, we spend a lot of time together and I don't want to give off the wrong idea."

Quinn pushed her back. "Bullshit! You have NO problem spending time with her! You two used to be shamelessly attached at the hip. Be honest Lopez, what _really_ happened to cause this? It's not like anyone knows you two-"

"Shut up." Santana sneered.

Quinn leans forward so she can whisper but still very much be heard. "Look, I'm obviously not going to say anything, and to be honest, I don't care if you two are doing whatever. All I care about is that my best friend from when I was _five_ is happy again and my _other_ best friend gets her shit together to make that happen."

"Just stay out of it Quinn." Santana turns her chair away from Quinn and starts working on homework from her previous class, already done with the assignment for the class she's currently in.

"You can't hide forever S, and you can't avoid Brittany much longer. I know you see what you're doing to her, and I know it's killing you. Whatever is going on, you need to figure it out, you can always talk to me." With that, Quinn decides to finally work on her assignment for class, she'd spent the last three days working on other classwork, and with this assignment being due on Tuesday, she realizes she should probably finish it up.

_I know I need to get my shit together, but how do I do that? My sister is already getting on my case about not answering her question on Monday. Although, my mother seems to be happy with the absence of Brittany from my daily recap during dinner, it really is killing me that the situation has become what it has. Why can't I just be okay with this, why can't I just accept the fact that no one has kissed me like she has, or makes me feel the way she does? Why?_

As class ends, Santana grabs Quinn by the arm and pulls her out of the crowd of people rushing to leave.

"Can we hang out this weekend? Just us?" Quinn tilts her head, raises an eyebrow, and crosses her arms. Santana knows this look too well after this week, she sighs but continues. "Please Quinn, just us. I need to talk and I don't want to do it where people might hear. Can we just do that, and then depending on how I feel we will call Brittany, okay?"

"When and where? Do you want to come over tomorrow or something? I have to watch my little brother and his friend Jared but, I'm pretty sure I can just shove them outside for a while and we can sit in the lawn chairs while they play or something."

"Yeah, I'll talk to my dad tonight and call you. Thanks Q. Oh and please don't tell Brittany okay?"

"Oh, don't thank me yet. I'm still mad that you've broken the energizer bunny." She jokes, winking at Santana before she walks out. "I won't tell her you're coming over."

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><p>"Hey Britty Bear!" Brittany laughs as Quinn slides against the lockers next to her. She was completely exhausted from her day and was eager to get out of the building that seemed to be housing 95% of the tension between her and Santana. When she was home, her brothers were the perfect distraction until she went to bed and her thoughts got the best of her.<p>

"Hey there Q-tip." Quinn shakes her head at Brittany. When they first started thinking of fun nicknames for each other, Q-tip was the first one Quinn rejected but every now and then Brittany liked to slip it in. Over the years, it started to grow on her, she still hated it but somehow Brittany managed to make it a tolerable name.

"Are you busy this weekend? I was thinking maybe we could hang out Saturday afternoon. I'm not really sure what is going on, but I have a feeling I may need you to come over." Quinn figured this was the best way to get Brittany's plans for the weekend without telling her anything specific.

"Well, if you _need_ me Q, then how can I say no?" She teases. "I'm not sure what I'm doing, I usually have plans with Santana but..." She trails off, staring at the stack of folders in her locker then shakes her head quickly. "Yeah, I might be able to persuade my mom to drop me off, or see if maybe my cousin can come get me and take me to your place. Just call me and let me know."

Quinn's heart broke at the sadness in Brittany's voice when she spoke of Santana, despite her attempt to recover, the tone in her voice didn't jump back to its usual bubbly quality. "No prob B, do you have practice tonight or are you done for the season?" She grabs Brittany's bag and holds it open for Brittany to put all her books in.

"Yeah, we have another two weeks then they are doing try outs for next year with some of the younger kids. The freshman want me to be there to show the routine, they seem to think that sixth graders will find me less intimidating. Something about my dance skills being fierce but my personality being like a kitten." Brittany leans over and nuzzles her head against Quinn's shoulder, mewling quietly, and pretends to lick her hands then jumps back, pirouettes, leaps and lands in a crouched position. "GRRRRRRRR!"

Quinn doubles over in laughter, even Brittany trying to sound like a ferocious animal is the cutest thing she's ever seen. "No wonder Santana likes you." Quinn stops, her hands flying to her mouth as her eyes widen and shift to both, make sure Santana isn't somehow hiding around the corner and, to check if Brittany heard her slip up.

Brittany, having very clearly heard what Quinn said, decides to play innocent. The panicked look on Quinn's face is enough for her to understand she wasn't supposed to hear it. "What did you say?" Quinn visibly relaxes and Brittany's heart aches that she not only had to lie to her best friend about hearing it, but also that Quinn would more than likely not repeat it. "Nevermind, tell me later, I gotta get to practice." She hugs Quinn tight and runs off with a quick wave and a reminder to call her about Saturday.

_Fuck that was close._

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><p>Santana's curled up on the couch in her living room, watching reruns of a 90's sitcom when she hears her sister walk in. Instinctively, she pulls her legs further into herself, attempting to close herself off even more in case her sister decides to dredge up their previous conversation.<p>

"Oh my god I love this show!" Jamie plops down next to her and pulls the blanket wrapped around Santana's feet so it also covers her own. "You know, they just don't make shows like this anymore. When I become famous I'll be on a show like this, but you know, whatever is cool when that happens."

Santana laughs, her sister has always said that she'd grow up to be rich and famous. Claiming that when she did, she would pay her parents back for all of the things they've given her. Santana always refrains from reminding her of the growing amount of money her sister has borrowed from_ her_ over the years.

"You mean like the Golden Girls? Because you'll probably not get on TV until you are a senile old lady." She may not remind her sister about the money, but that certainly doesn't mean she can't take a few stabs at her from time to time. In her opinion, it will keep her sister humble if this dream ever does come true. Jamie should owe her big time for the service she's providing early in her non-existent career.

Jamie nudges her sister, not appreciating the joke but able to see that something is wrong. "Where's your other half? I haven't seen or heard her in a while. Not that I'm complaining. It's been kind of refreshing to not hear _Britt and I did this _and _oh my god Britt said the funniest thing in class today_." Santana tenses and tries to play it off like she purposely needed to curl into herself a little more to be comfortable. "If this has anything to do with what I asked you the other day-"

"Jamie, seriously, I'm trying to watch this so either shut up or get out!" Santana grabs the remote and turns up the volume. Jamie notices how Santana's leg starts to shake slightly, how her left hand is balling up then releasing and how her breathing has become deeper and louder. Without another word, she gets up and walks away.

_I'm going to get to the bottom of this. If she thinks I'm going to leave her alone about something that is obviously bothering her, she's an idiot. I'm the big sister, it's my job to poke and prod at the problems of the weaker sibling until they finally give in. It's clear that our parents either don't notice the switch or don't care, so now it's my responsibility._

* * *

><p>"Hey Britt! Where's Santana? I thought it was like, her turn to come over?" Andy bounces onto the bed and sits Indian-style next to where Brittany is laying, staring up at the ceiling.<p>

"She's not talking to me right now. I kind of did something stupid and now she's not talking to me."

Andy scoots closer to her so his knees are touching the outside of his sister's thigh and hip. "I doubt it was stupid Britt. If she's not talking to you, then _she's _stupid. You two are like best friends, what could you have done?"

Brittany turns her head to look at her little brother. She bites her lip, trying to decide if she should tell him the truth or brush it off. Would Santana be mad if she told her brother? She knows they are close, so maybe she already assumes Andy knows? But she also doesn't want to do anything else that might hurt her even more.

"She's not stupid either Bud, she just has a lot going on and I kind of didn't help like I should have. I made a mistake and now I have to deal with the consequences."

"Well did you apologize?"

"Yeah, many times. It's okay, I know what I did wrong and now I just have to wait for her to be okay again."

Andy purses his lips to the side, his head lolling back and forth. "Well... while you wait, do you want to play video games with me?" He puts on his best smile, the one he uses for class photos and family portraits. It's wide and innocent, but if you look closely the mischief is still sparkling in his dark blue eyes. Brittany always laughs at it, knowing that this "sweet and innocent" smile is as fake as their grandma's "leather" sofa.

"That sounds like a perfect idea. I could use an easy victory." She teases, sticking her tongue out as she leans up and wraps her arms around her brother and tickles his sides until he's begging for mercy. "You're an awesome little brother, you know that?"

"Well, considering our other brother is kind of a bore-fest, I figured I had to pick up the slack." He says, nodding like it's the clear answer. "Just don't tell him I said that, I don't want to wake up to something creepy crawling in my bed tonight."

Brittany crosses her fingers over her heart. "Secret safe with me." They walk out into their make-shift living room and Andy puts in a game while Brittany grabs her lucky remote and sits on the floor with her back against the couch. She may get very uncomfortable sitting like that, but she claims she plays better from that position.

Andy pauses the game before they start and looks at his sister. "Hey Brittany?" She nods, not taking her eyes away from the screen, they've both been known to try and throw the other off their game right before starting it up, she's not going to fall for it this time. "You know I can keep pretty good secrets too right?" His voice is soft, mouse-like even. It's full of vulnerability and honesty. Brittany's eyes shift downward, her breath catches in her throat, she could easily tell him everything. It's clear he knows she's hiding something, but does he already know what it is? Just when she's about to ask him what he means, he hits the start button and they are in full combat mode, moment forgotten and Brittany, already two points down.

* * *

><p>Saturday morning, Quinn's dad leaves, telling them to behave and give him a call if they need anything. He agreed to let Santana come over, as long as they don't leave the two boys outside all day, or lock them in a room.<p>

Once the doorbell rings, Quinn bribes her little brother to take his friend outside or she'll deflate all of his soccer and footballs then cut them into little pieces. It's enough to send them both running out the back door, clutching the balls to their chests. She pulls Santana into the living room and tries to get her to sit down to talk. The talking part was easy, the sitting, not so much.

About two minutes into their talk, Santana is on her feet, pacing the floor in front of the couch. "Quinn you don't understand, I'm not gay."

Quinn stands up and pulls her friend back down to the couch. "I'm not saying you are, what I'm _saying_ is that you have a thing for our best friend." Before Santana can interrupt her again, she puts her hand up and continues. "there is nothing wrong with it okay? My family may be slightly more religious than most but, personally, I don't see anything wrong with it. You can like or love whomever you choose. I do, however, have one rule about this."

She sees a sliver of fear in Santana's eyes and feels a little happy that she can instill it in what most people consider the most bad ass girl in school. Scooting forward so that she's face to face with her friend, she makes sure to lock eyes before giving out her only requirement.

"Santana, I swear to God, if you hurt her in any way, shape or form, I will destroy you. I'm not kidding about this, I don't care if you could probably kick my ass to Timbuktu, I _will_ destroy you."

Part of Santana wants to laugh at this, as if little innocent Quinn could do her any harm. As if she'd ever hurt Brittany in anyway to cause this kind of occurrence. Then she thinks about this past week, she already has hurt Brittany. Guilt churns her stomach.

_Brittany doesn't deserve someone like me. she deserves someone who makes her happy, someone who won't hurt her, someone who isn't sitting in an uncomfortable chair panicking about how they feel. Someone who isn't going to make her feel unloved by the rest of the world. _

"Hey." Quinn's voice is soft at first, it's as if thought bubbles are popping up above Santana's head. When they don't clear, she tries again, a bit stronger. "Santana!" Santana's head snaps towards her, the bubbles fading slightly. "As far as I've seen, you are everything she needs. This doesn't mean you two have to date, it doesn't actually have to _mean_ anything other than you really care about her. Maybe one day it will become something else, but for right now, you can just be best friends who may or may not make out sometimes. Think of it as the old college experience, but like… in junior high."

"College experience?"

"Don't you watch movies? You know, some girls go to college and end up making out with their best friend. It gets them drinks or something or the guys completely eat it up."

**"THIS ISN'T LIKE THAT! I'M NOT DOING THIS FOR FUCKING BOYS!**" Santana jumps to her feet again before Quinn can stop her.

"Whoa, S, chill out. I didn't mean it like that, and I also wasn't finished. Sometimes, girls take those moments and figure out that they've never liked boys in the first place. Maybe that's what this is for you. Maybe it's your moment to realize that boys just aren't your thing."

Santana laughs bitterly, "yeah and maybe for Brittany it's just about the experience and I'll end up on my ass by freshman year."

"Hey, don't think like that, you don't know. I can almost guarantee that won't happen to you. Britt likes you, if it's just as best friends, it's certainly more than she likes me." Quinn and Santana both laugh at this. "I'm almost jealous of how quickly you two connected, but I get it. I can see that it's not just a simple friendship for you two. I can't say I know what it means in the long run, but for right now, it's definitely something different."

Santana shrugs, still not sure how she feels about the whole thing but glad that she got some of it off of her chest.

"Do you think you can handle if she comes over? I can call her right now." Quinn treads lightly on the subject, still sensing Santana's apprehension.

Santana chews on the inside of her cheek for a minute, debating her options and how she would feel if she saw Brittany in the mental mess she's currently in. With a resigned sigh, she looks back to Quinn, her shoulders squared. "Call her, but don't say anything about inviting her over yet. I'm not sure how I feel." Quinn nods and reaches for the phone on the coffee table. "Do you think you could get her talking, maybe see how she feels about all of this? But like… don't tell her I'm here or anything?"

Quinn smiles and sets the phone in her lap. _This may take a minute._ "Do you want to listen in, or am I just doing this on my own while you have a melt down in my living room and I'll fill you in later?"

Santana squints her eyes in a grimace and tilts her head to the left. "Would it be bad if I wanted to listen in?"

"No, just keep quiet and if I tell you to leave, or I take her off speaker phone, you better not argue with me. I'm on both sides here and I'm not about to make matters worse for either of you." Santana nods that she understands, though Quinn can see the annoyance hidden behind it. A shifting jaw is never a happy one when combined with a deep, audible breath. "Also, let me do the questioning, I don't need guidance from you. If you can manage that, I won't lock you in a room with my brother and his friend for the rest of the night." She smiles and sticks out her tongue, laughing when she is punched in the arm. "Ready?"

Santana takes a deep breath, "as I'll ever be." She watches Quinn dial, each beep of a number speeds up her heart and her breathing, so by the time she hears the ringing, she's nearly blacked out from nerves.

"I can hang up at any-"

"Hello?" Santana tenses at the voice of Mrs. Pierce. She's always felt some kind of tension around her, like she needs to be on her best behavior and the idea of Mrs. Pierce knowing what she and her daughter have done a few times is enough to give Santana a momentary heart attack, or so it feels that way.

"Hey, it's Quinn, is Britt around?" The phone shuffles around and a muffled call is heard a second later before another shuffle.

"Hey Q!" That heart attack Santana had earlier? Nothing compared to this. Her heart and stomach jump from her feet to her throat in a split second, and she coughs loudly, trying to turn into the couch to muffle the sound. "Are you okay Q?"

Quinn fakes a cough, "Yeah B, sorry, took a sip of soda and it went down the wrong pipe. I'm alright now." She glares at Santana briefly but the pale complexion of her usually tan friend provides her with enough understanding of what just happened. "Just so you know, you're on speaker phone, I have to get some stuff done while my parents are gone."

The girls start with the usual pleasantries; school, friday night, and what they've been up to all day so far. Enough time for Santana to lull herself into the sound of the girl she's currently imagining to be sitting right next to her, retelling a story about how her and her brothers made a huge fort in their basement the night before. Every detail of how they set up the pillows so that they could slide one of them in and out as a door, how the couch was used as a makeshift wall and that they stole all of their mother's clothespins from the garage to clip the blankets together. Santana could imagine all of it. The excited look on Brittany's face when the idea came about, and her even bigger excitement once it was finished. Her heart unclenches and practically melts. She grabs a pillow from Quinn's couch and hugs it to her chest. If she can't hug Brittany, she can at least hug _something._

Quinn can see all of this playing on Santana's face, how she scrunches her nose when she smiles at Brittany's idea to use her teddy bear as a guard at night. What strikes her most is when Brittany tells her she used one of Santana's hoodie as a pillow since all of theirs were used to heighten the sides where the blankets draped over. She found her connection.

"So Britt, speaking of Santana. What's going on? Have you two talked yet?" Santana sits upright, the pillow still squeezed tight against her midsection.

"No…I want to, but I'm too afraid to call her, I want to give her time. I don't want to upset her any more than I already have." Santana's eyes tear immediately, she wants to scream out that she never upset her. That she's just an idiot. Quinn puts a hand on her shoulder, her eyes telling her to relax, she'll take care of this.

"Sweetie, I told you, you didn't upset her. I'm sure it's fine. Chances are she's mad at me."

"Yeah but she's at least _talking_ to you!"

Quinn laughs, "Oh Britty Bear I wouldn't call it talking. More close to snipping and just plain sarcastic rudeness!" She groans as a pillow hits her in the face. "I'm sure by Monday you two will be fine. I can talk to her for you if you want. Maybe see what's going on?"

"I don't want you to get into trouble. I know how Santana likes to keep things to herself until she's ready to talk about it. I can wait, however long it takes, I can wait until she's ready to talk to me." Quinn looks to Santana her eyebrows raise in a _See what an idiot you are_ kind of way. Santana just slumps back into the couch, trying to her best to fight the urge to grab the phone and lock herself in Quinn's room or the nearest bathroom and just spill everything to Brittany. She knows though, that once she got the phone she wouldn't have a clue what to say, or would more than likely make a fool of herself.

"It's really no problem Britt. I don't mind pissing her off, she'll get over it." She smiles, nudging Santana with her foot. Trying to multi-task to cheer both of her friends up.

"Quinn… I don't know." Brittany sighs into the phone.

Quinn thinks for a moment then comes up with an idea. "Alright B, let's say… if I _were_ to call Santana, what would you want me to find out? What would _you_ say if you could talk to her?"

There is a silence on the other end, Santana moves to the edge of the couch as if getting closer might help her decipher what Brittany is doing.

_Is she sitting? Laying down? Is she sad? Thinking? Where in her house is she, did she go downstairs to her room or is she in the living room? Is the fort still up, maybe she's hiding in the fort. I bet the fort is really cool, I wonder if she took pictures of it? Probably. _

"Like, hippo pothically?" Quinn's look at the phone then to Santana, completely confused.

Santana laughs then whispers, "hypothetically."

"Yes. Imagine she's sitting next to me or next to you, you decide, what would you say or want to say."

"Hmm…Well first I'd give her a hug, or tell you to give her a hug. I think she'd like being given a hug, she would know why." Santana's smile softens and her eyes become wistful. Quinn decides not to ask for further detail, this seems like a secret between them. "Then I'd tell her I'm sorry for whatever I did but that she's one of the bestest people I've ever met and that I would do anything to make her happy again. I would apologize for writing the letter and letting someone see it, even if it was you because I know we were going to tell you but I think she wanted to actually be there when you found out and you finding a note isn't exactly the best way to find out that your two best friends have been sweet lady kissing."

"Okay, and…"

"I don't know. I think I'd have to see how she would react then go from there. This is a lot easier if she was here and I could see her face and her hands. I imagine they would probably be fidgeting in her lap. Her face is sometimes harder to imagine, she has so many." Quinn eyes her friend, who swiftly puts her hands underneath her legs, which only causes her legs to bounce up and down. She stifles a laugh, noticing the glare coming from her friend's eyes. "Hey Quinn?"

Brittany's voice is much softer, almost a whisper and both girls lean forward to hear it. It's full of vulnerability and fear, something they aren't used to coming from the bubbly dancer.

"What's up B?"

"Would it be bad if I liked her? You know, how you like Finn? Would it be bad if I wanted to kiss her like, all the time? I mean I know she's scared because her mom isn't really accepting of it. She kind of told me I should leave her daughter alone when we were in Chicago. Something about giving people the wrong impression of us. So I get that if her and I were to keep getting our lady kisses on, we'd have to be super secret about it because her mom would probably like be really _really_ mad and if her sister is anything like her mom, she'd probably pick on Santana more than she already does and I don't want that to happen, I don't' want her to get picked on. I don't want Santana to feel like she isn't the most amazing person in the world. What am I supposed to do?"

Santana is sobbing into her hands, during Brittany's speech, she got up from the couch and moved to a recliner across the room, knowing she wouldn't be able to stay quiet as the tears began pouring down her face. Every insecurity that Santana was refusing to acknowledge, Brittany just laid out for her and Quinn.

"I can't tell you what to do B, but if I were you, I'd talk to Santana. I know you're probably afraid to tell her what you just told me, but honestly, I don't think you need to be." Quinn looks up to make eye contact with Santana, she gives her a reassuring smile, hoping that Santana can see that she has nothing to worry about.

"Yeah, maybe you are right, maybe I'll call her after I get off the phone with you."

"NO!" Santana jolts up, panicked that if Britt calls her house, she'll find out that Santana is here and probably know that she heard everything.

Quinn slaps her hand to her head and quickly tries to cover up Santana's outburst. "Um, hold on a second Britt, I'll be right back. I'm pretty sure I hear my brother being an idiot." Quinn mutes the phone and looks to Santana. "Well? Is she coming over or what? I can tell her you are on your way over and that she should come too, finally get this whole thing worked out in person. Or would you rather, risk her calling your house?"

Santana groans into the pillow in her lap. "I thought I'd at least have the option! Now it seems like I have no choice. This is seriously unfair!"

"What's unfair is making me be in the middle of this pointless argument because you don't have the guts to fess up about your feelings." Santana glares at her friend, ready to pounce at any moment. "I get it though. Your family is pretty harsh about things they don't understand. But now you know that Britt is willing to do whatever to make sure you don't get hurt by them, I am too. At least talk to her, okay?" Santana squeezes her eyes shut and nods, praying that this doesn't turn out to be an epic disaster.

"Hey Britty B, sorry about that, he's such a pain in the ass sometimes." She looks directly at Santana when she says that to make sure she knows it's _her_ she's talking about. Santana rolls her eyes and gestures for her friend to get to the point. "Don't call Santana, she's actually on her way over here. Remember how I said I may need you to come over today?"

"You tricked me didn't you? Quinn, I'm not going to come over if she's not ready to talk to me."

"I am B." Santana stands up and grabs the phone from the table, turns the speaker phone off and sits down on the couch. "Hi. I'm ready to talk. I've been here the whole time. I heard what you said, come over to Quinn's and we can hide out in her room or something and talk, I promise. I'm really sorry Britt."

Silence.

Santana sits, waiting, she looks to Quinn and shrugs, unsure of what is happening on the other end.

A quiet, shaky voice is heard a moment later. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Don't leave."

Santana's voice wavers, tears falling from her eyes, her jaw trembling but a wide, relieved smile showing that these tears, are not sad ones. They are tears of relief, of happiness, of hope. Tears that signal a fresh start.

"I'm not going anywhere B, I'll be here."

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts? Ideas for what you want to see? Reviews fuel my fingers to type, they are kind of running on fumes at the moment so please... help them help you! :) Also glee-southwriter if you want to bug me on tumblr. I have a twitter but I don't go there often or I'd pass that info out too.<strong>


	28. Chapter 28

**I promised adolt-affair I would get this up this week since I'm interning from home for the week. So, hopefully this works for you all :)**

**Thank you all for the reviews, I hope the intensity of the last chapter wasn't too much for you all haha It hasn't really been edited so if there are errors, I apologize. Please let me know what you think. I'll be working on Ch 29 in the next couple of days too, but I also have a few plans that may delay the finishing/posting of it, just as a heads up.  
><strong>

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><p>Brittany hangs up the phone, and takes the stairs two at a time. She tosses the phone to the couch as she crosses the living room towards her parents' room.<p>

"Mom? Dad? Are either of you still home?" Her voice echoes through an empty house. Looking out the window she sees the tail lights of her father's car a few blocks down. She grabs the phone from the couch and calls her cousin hoping he can give her a ride to Quinn's.

_I don't even know what to say! Am I staying over? Is Santana staying over? Why didn't I ask these things?! As soon as I heard her voice I didn't care about anything else. As soon as I heard she was ready to talk to me, I was already half way there in my mind, hugging her and holding her tightly to me. Promising that I'd never let anything happen._

Within ten minutes she's out the door and waiting at the end of her driveway, jumping up and down as she sees her cousin's gray pick up truck cruising down the road. She's always appreciated his knack for fast driving, even in his busted old pick up truck.

"Where to?" He laughs, half expecting her to bounce in through the window or just hop into the bed of the truck like he's some getaway driver from a multi million dollar heist. His car is definitely not built for such an occasion.

"You remember my friend Quinn? There. NOW!"

He smirks and puts the car back into drive but barely presses on the gas, "Yeah, I remember, her brother plays soccer with mine. What do I get for this horse powered carriage ride on such short notice?"

"If you can get me there in less than ten minutes, I will tell Lord Tubbington to stop stealing your keys when you come over AND I'll make sure Eric lets you borrow his newest copy of that weird angel game you two are obsessed with."

"Wha- OH! He got the new Halo game? SWEET! You've got yourself a deal kiddo." Brittany is flung back into her seat as her cousin pushes his foot to the floor and takes a short cut down a gravel side road.

"You know it's weird that you, a twenty year old college boy, is getting excited about a game that a ten year old is playing, right? I don't even get what you do, if it's about halos why do I always here gun shots? Shouldn't it be like ballet music?"

He shakes his head as he turns down Quinn's street. "Well, your brother shouldn't be playing games like that anyway, and we've _tried_ explaining it to you several times."

Brittany bites her bottom lip and tries to remember the previous explanations she'd been given. "Yeah and I still don't get it! Where do the angels come in? Or is it because you're killing a bunch of people?"

He's grateful when he sees Quinn's house appear beyond a line of trees. "Oh look, we're here!" Suddenly Brittany is frozen in her seat, her face paled and her hands rubbing anxiously across her thighs. "Um, B, are you okay? Something wrong? Should I take you home?"

Brittany's head shakes rapidly from side to side. Her shaky hand reaches for the handle and pulls but doesn't push the door open all the way, just cracks it so the dome light of the truck turns on. _Santana is here waiting for me, why am I still sitting here?_

She turns quickly in her seat, takes a deep breath and smiles at him. "Thanks for the ride. I'll be sure to keep my side of the deal." She's out the door and up the driveway before he can even formulate a response.

* * *

><p>Santana hears the rumble of a truck pulling into the driveway and immediately stands but doesn't move. She keeps her eyes set on Quinn walking towards the window. The sound of the truck still rumbles and she already knows that Brittany is probably just as worked up as she is right now.<p>

"Hmm that's odd, why is Britt's cousin dropping her off?" Quinn shrugs and turns towards her friend. "Are you just going to stand there like a statue? You're the one that told her to come over." She stares at her friend for another minute and when she hears the closing of the car door, heads towards the door. "Maybe you should sit down."

In an almost robotic like fashion, Santana sits back down on the edge of the couch, her back straight and her knees bouncing with hands shoved underneath her, gripping the cushion of the couch. She hears the front door open and the sound of Quinn greeting the other girl. It's faint against the contrast of her breath that she's focused on but when she hears Brittany's voice, it's the clearest thing she's ever heard. Still, she doesn't move, doesn't turn her head or flick her eyes in any direction, just keeps them focussed on the small fireplace set across from the couch.

She feels a dip in the cushion but nothing more, her eyes so focussed, they're almost blurred to anything around her. Her nose however, picks up the one thing that snaps her from her daze. The smell of fruity body wash that is signature to only Brittany. It fills her head and suddenly the view of the fireplace disappears, replaced by the back of her eyelids which have fluttered closed. She takes a deep, albeit shaky, breath and holds it for a moment, her teeth pull at her bottom lip and bite down hard. With the soft feeling of a hand on her back, she completely melts and lets go of the breath, slumping forward, her hands whipping out from underneath to catch herself against her knees. She breathes heavily for what seems like five minutes but in truth is probably only seconds.

"Hi." It's simple and sweet and everything Santana needs to pull herself together and sit up against the couch.

"I'm going to go check on my brother and his friend, I'll be back in a bit." She feels Quinn's hand on her shoulder, a very different one from the hand that's still resting on her back. When she hears Quinn's footsteps grow faint, she finally turns her head towards her best friend.

"Hi." Their eyes search each other, both swallow hard, not knowing what to do next. "Um... thanks for coming over." Brittany's arms immediately wrap tightly around Santana who has to adjust for the embrace and soon they are both wrapped tight in each others' arms, tears flowing from both of their eyes.

"I'm so sorry I upset you Santana, I'm so so so sorry. I won't do it again, I promise. Please don't be mad at me anymore it hurt so much!" Brittany cries and her hands grip santana's shoulders tighter with each sob. "You're my best friend and I bothered me so much to see you upset and not be able to do anything about it and I'm so sorry that I upset you and-"

"Shhh, Britt, I'm not mad at you. I never was, promise. I'm more mad at myself for how I've been treating you. I'm a terrible best friend for just ignoring you like that. I'm so sorry B." Santana pulls back to look into Brittany's eyes, to make sure she understands how serious she is.

They pull their arms away but Brittany links the closest ones together as they settle back into the couch. "Did you really hear everything I said?" Santana nods, her free hand playing with an imaginary thread on her pants.

Santana turns her head and looks up at Brittany from behind her lashes, which still have a few tear drops hanging on. "Are we okay? Do you forgive me for being a jerk all week?" She blinks quickly, trying to dispel the tears then wipes them from her face.

Brittany smiles slightly and a little bit of warmth washes over Santana, "I'll always forgive you." Her head drops as she frowns, "Do you forgive me for being an idiot and leaving that note in a folder? I didn't mean for Quinn to see it."

Santana lifts her hand to Brittany's cheek and tilts her head up so their eyes meet. "You aren't an idiot. It's okay, really. We were going to tell her anyway. I guess this just saves us an awkward conversation. I'm just glad Quinn was the one to find it and not someone else. But we do need to talk about this I think." Brittany nods, her eyebrows furrowing, as her lips starts to quiver again. "B, relax. Everything is fine, you are and always will be my best friend. I'm not mad, Quinn isn't mad, except for maybe at me for being a jerk to you but I can handle that. In fact, Quinn is being pretty cool about all of this, which I didn't actually expect."

"So..." Brittany rubs her lips together, one of her few nervous habits.

"So, we should go up to Quinn's room and talk this out. I'm not sure having this conversation where her brother can come in at any time would be a good idea." They stand and head towards the stairs. Santana debates telling Quinn but figures the girl is smart enough to know that if they aren't in the living room they're probably in her room and to leave them alone.

* * *

><p>Quinn leans against the back patio door, watching her brother and his friend kick around a soccer ball, every now and then glancing back towards the living room to make sure the plan hasn't taken a wrong turn. She watches how they embrace each other and remain there for a few minutes. What amazes her is how Brittany is able to visibly relax Santana with just a hug as if Santana is just a blow up toy and Brittany is expelling all of the air from it. She sees them pull away, wiping tears from their eyes. When she looks back a couple minutes later they're gone.<p>

"Quinn, come play with us!" Quinn smiles at her brother and jogs out to the yard, happy to have a reason to give her friends more time and keep her brother occupied enough to not cause suspicion. "Where's Santana?"

"Brittany is over, they're doing homework in my room. I got all of mine done already so that I could hang out with you." Quinn ruffles her brother's hair, laughing when he tries to fight her off. "Come on, teach me a few tricks."

She glances up to her bedroom window, seeing the tops of her friends heads as they enter then disappear when they sit down. She figures she'll hang out with her brother until he works up an appetite then come in and see how they are doing while the kids each lunch.

* * *

><p>Brittany and Santana lay on their backs on Quinn's bed. No one says a word for a full three minutes, both of them processing what they're about to talk about.<p>

"What do we do?" Brittany speaks first, not liking the silence anymore.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

"Santana, you're supposed to be the smart one." Brittany teases, hitting her hand against Santana's.

Santana smiles nervously and slides a shaky hand underneath Brittany's. "Not when it comes to feelings, that's your department B."

"Well then..." She squeezes their hands together, "tell me what you're feeling. Do you like when you kissed me?"

"I'm scared but yes, I like kissing you more than anyone else."

"Why are you scared? I'm like the least scary person on the planet. The girls on the pom team want me to be at early try outs for the sixth graders in a few weeks, apparently I'm the least intimidating person. I don't understand it, but oh well. I think I'm pretty ferocious sometimes."

Santana smiles, "you are Britt, you can be very ferocious. But you're also the sweetest person on the planet."

Brittany bites her lip and smiles before taking a deep breath and turns onto her side to face Santana. "So, would it be okay if I kissed you right now? I don't want to upset you or make you feel-" She stops when Santana's eyes lock with hers and sees a subtle nod paired with a shy smile. Brittany tries to bite back a huge grin, but decides against hiding it, she's happy for so many reasons, why should she try to hide it?

Santana's heart starts to race with each inch that Brittany moves forward, within centimeters and it feels like the entire world has shut off. Her eyes closed right after she nodded and Brittany moved forward, but she could feel the heat from the other girl's body and some odd energy that continued to envelop her until their lips finally touched. Suddenly everything came back in at warp speed, like the sounds of a plane about to take off, until it was as if they, too, were flying thousands of miles above everyone else. This only lasted for a couple of seconds, but it was without a doubt the most powerful couple of seconds in Santana's life so far.

"Whoa." Santana breathes, not sure how she even managed to regain enough breath to even speak.

Brittany sweeps Santana's bangs off of her forehead, "You still okay?" Santana nods but keeps her eyes still closed.

Slowly, she opens her eyes but doesn't look up to Brittany's, instead she focuses on the small bit of space between their bodies. "So, what does this mean for us? Like are we..."

Brittany leans back down and rests her head on Santana's shoulder and re-laces their fingers together. "We don't have to be anything if you don't want to be. We can just be best friends who like kissing each other. It's like what the older girls say-"

"Yeah B, kissing isn't dating, I know." She sighs and rests her head against Brittany's, "But does that mean you'll be kissing other people too?"

Brittany smiles, "not if you don't want me to be."

"But do you want to kiss other people? Be honest." _Please say no, please say I'm the only one, I don't think my heart could take it otherwise._

Brittany leans up again to get face to face with Santana. "I'd never lie to you Santana. Promise. And no, I don't want to kiss anyone else. Just you, but we don't have to _date_ if you don't want to."

"Promise? I mean, I want to but you know...my family and well..." Brittany's hand cups Santana's cheek, "it terrifies me how much I like you."

"I know S, me too. I already told you this can be our secret." She pauses and giggles softly, "and Quinn's too I guess, but I don't think she'll tell anyone. As long as we are best friends, then I don't care. It was hell to not get to talk to you all week. I almost asked Lord Tubbington if I could borrow some of his happy pills, which I'm pretty sure are just those mint things that come in a tin, but... he seems to think otherwise."

Santana pulls Brittany down into a hug, "You will always be my best friend Britt-britt. Nothing will ever change that unless you decide you're sick of me."

Brittany fakes a cough then makes a motion as if she's about to sneeze, "Uh oh... I think it's already started." She laughs then screams as Santana flips her over and starts tickling her sides.

"Oh you're _soooo_ funny huh?" She continues to tickle Brittany who is squirming underneath her.

The door whips open and distracts Santana enough for Brittany to quickly grab Santana's arms and pull herself up. "What's going on in here!?" Quinn looks at the sight of her friends, smiles wide and Santana basically sitting in Brittany's lap. "Am I to assume everything is okay now? I came in to make the rugrats lunch and heard a scream and then a series of giggles. I almost didn't come in for fear of my poor teenage eyes."

"Oh shut it Quinn, we've only kissed it's not like we were going to jump each other's bones for the first time in _YOUR_ bed. Even if we did, it'd be retaliation enough for the disgusting displays Britt and I have had to see with you and that flubsaurus boyfriend of yours."

Brittany pinches Santana's sides, "San, be nice or she won't keep our secret."

Quinn softens, but only slightly, "So what secret am I keeping? Are you two like together or..."

Santana turns to smile at Brittany before turning back to Quinn. "We are best friends who quite enjoy talking with our lips super close."

Brittany nods and wraps her arms around Santana. "Yeah, super top secret sweet lady kissing, it'll be really cool. Like we know a secret that no one else does. I've always wanted to know things before they became popular gossip!"

Quinn laughs and joins her friends on the bed. "You should be a journalist when you grow up then, or a paparazzi photographer."

"If I write in a journal, aren't I already a journalist?" Brittany tilts her head to the side to consider her own question.

Santana leans away from Brittany, "You have a journal? Can I read it?" Brittany ducks her head down, suddenly very shy.

"Yes, I have one. No, you can't read it, not yet." Santana squints her eyes, trying to read what Brittany isn't out right saying but comes up empty. "I promise, one day I'll let you read it. Maybe when I fill this one up and need another I'll let you look through it. K?"

_This could get interesting, or awkward, or tense, maybe all of the above. I'm not sure I want to deal with taht kind of situation right now. They just got past one obstacle, I highly doubt they need another one to tackle. _"Okay so... as long as we are okay up here I'm going to go finish making lunch for the boys, if you'd like something, come down cuz I'm not making it for you." Quinn hugs both girls and gets up. "I'm serious," she says, looking right at Santana, "if you're hungry get your butts downstairs."

"We'll be down in a minute Q." Brittany says, smiling and waving her friend off. "We're okay right? This is all settled? You're good with the situation we decided on?"

In lieu of an actual answer, Santana presses her lips to Brittany's then to her cheek. "Come on ssslk, let's get food!" Santana jumps off the bed and starts to pull Brittany up.

"What did you call me?" Brittany pulls back to stop Santana from leaving the room. "What's ssslk?"

Santana mentally smacks herself in the head and groans, "Um... K, Super Secret Sweet Lady Kisser." Brittany bursts into laughter.

"You are seriously the cutest wannabe bad ass I've ever met."

"So, not a good name?" Brittany, still giggling, shakes her head. "Yeah, you're probably right, it sounds too much like silk and I'd prefer not to be called a fabric, even if silk feels almost as good as kissing you does." Santana gulps at her admission and squeezes her eyes shut from the embarrassment. _Fuck Lopez. You just get this sorted out and now you're being a fucking sap who says cutesy things. Pull your shit together! That bad ass status you hold so dear is quickly slipping away as if it's made of fucking silk! _

Brittany's arms wrap around her from behind and her chin rests on Santana's shoulder. "Stop bereting yourself S, it's fine. We can think of some other really cool name."

Santana brows furrow as she tries to decipher Brittany's meaning. "Bereting? You mean berating? Like beating myself up about it?"

"OOOH yeah! I always got really confused wondering why people made it seem like a bad thing to wear those really cool french hats. That makes more sense now. But I also don't think you should beat yourself up, that wouldn't be very nice either."

Santana smiles and heads towards the stairs with Brittany still wrapped around her.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope this quells some of your hearts either from last chapter or the silly break up episode of the real show.<strong>

** Please let me know what you think either here or on tumblr (glee-southwriter).**

**Thanks loves!  
><strong>


	29. Chapter 29

**Holy shit that took longer than I expected. Job interviews, sister stealing my internet, being overall bummed out about a few things and having no motivation at all... sure delays the writing process. Whoever anon messaged me on tumblr last week, I'm so sorry I didn't get the update until THIS weekend. I tried, I promise. I didn't want to give you guys a paragraph and a half. Not that this is very much longer. Much love to my readers and reviewers.**

* * *

><p>Quinn, the boys, Brittany and Santana spent the rest of the afternoon outside. Much like Brittany and Santana did to Santana's driveway, all five of them fully decorated the Fabray's driveway. Soccer balls, baseballs, smilie faces, suns, trees, squiggles and each person's name in some fancy lettering all create an interesting chalk mosaic.<p>

"Hey Quinn? Are we going to leave this for mom and dad to see? Will she get mad?" Quinn looks at her little brother across the driveway, chalk marks all over his clothes, hands and face. _Probably, and she'll probably get mad if you track chalk all over the house too. But I'm the big sister so I need to take responsibility and this was totally worth it._

"I'll clean it off before they get home tomorrow. Don't worry dude."

"We should take a picture of it!" Brittany jumps up and down clapping her hands together. "We didn't get to take a picture of the one Santana and I did and it was really cool, but this one is awesome because we all connected them and we should take a picture before it gets cleaned off."

Santana laughs at the excited rambling from her friend and carefully walks over towards her while Quinn runs inside to grab the family camera.

Santana wraps her arms around Brittany and hugs her tight, slightly lifting her off the ground. "You are the cutest of the cute, did you know that?"

"Well, you're the sweetest of the sweet. No matter what you say about being a bad ass." Brittany giggles when Santana scrunches her face and shakes her head. She wants so badly to kiss her, but isn't sure if she should with the boys standing only a few feet away from them. Instead she steps out of the hug but keeps her left arm draped around Santana's shoulder.

Quinn returns and immedately starts snapping photos of the ground. When she gets over by her brother, he whispers, "Your friends are weird."

"Heard that half pint!" Santana yells, still snuggled up against Brittany. "Don't make me come over there!"

Quinn squats down next to her brother, "How about you two go get washed up before his mom comes. I don't want to get either of us into trouble for sending him home a mess." She pauses to glance at Santana and Brittany, watching how they laugh at the different drawings on the driveway. Making sure they don't notice her movements, she raises the camera again and snaps a few pictures "Word of advice, take the long way around the driveway and keep your head down. Santana is like medusa, she'll freeze you if you catch her evil glare for too long." She winks, pushes the boys forward and watches them walk quickly around the driveway, sneaking peeks at Santana periodically to make sure they are keeping their distance.

"So, what should we do now, do your parents even know you're here Britt?" Quinn dusts off her hands on her pants and walks over to her friends.

Brittany nods, "I left them a note and told my cousin to tell them after I bribed him with my brother's video game. We're good. Besides, where else would I be? If they called San's and found out I wasn't there, the next call would be here. Duh!"

"So... you two are good, right? No more avoiding, no more silent treatments, no more putting _me_ in the middle?" She nudges Santana with her shoulder and raises her eyebrows with a slight smirk and wink.

Santana shakes her head at her friend, looks up at Brittany and smiles. "Yeah Q, we're good."

_I wonder if Quinn would freak out if I kissed her right now. I mean, I'm sure she'll see it eventually, but this is all new to us, and what if she freaks out still. I mean yeah she's okay with us being... whatever we are, but-_

Brittany leans down and kisses Santana's cheek, "Relax baby Sanny. It's just Quinn." She giggles and steps around Santana to bear hug Quinn from behind, lifting her off her feet. "Quinn doesn't mind seeing some sweet lady kisses, do you Quinny?"

"Just... if you two ever start getting handsy with your _not a relationship relationship, _keep it to yourself. Also, no sweet lady kisses, or whatever you call it, in front of my brother, I'd hate to think what would happen if he accidently told my parents he saw you two kissing."

Santana stiffens at the thought of anyone's family knowing, what it could mean if Quinn's parents found out, would they tell her parents? Would they tell Brittany's? Would they forbid them from seeing each other? Would Quinn be forbidden from seeing either of them? There is no way she could handle Brittany being upset if Quinn wasn't allowed to hang out with them anymore. Brittany would be a mess and it would surely break her own heart seeing her best friend this way. Especially after the week they just had.

"Little brother's are great though! You can bribe them with things, my little brother knows. Well, Andy does, Eric doesn't because he's weird, but Andy totally knows and he won't say anything. I didn't even had to bribe him, I kept trying not to tell him but the more he asked what was wrong, the less I could hide it from him. I'm on bedroom cleaning duty for a week anyway, mostly has a big thank you to him for being the greatest little brother ever. Thankfully Andy is the cleaner brother." He giggles and kicks a rock that was in the grass, across the driveway and throws her hands up when it lands at the center of the sun drawing.

Santana shakes her head from her thoughts when her brain finally catches on to Brittany's statement. She spins on her heel and stares at the taller blonde who has turned her focus to the driveway masterpiece. "YOU TOLD YOUR BROTHER?!" She screams, startling both girls. "Brittany! What? Why? When? I thought we were going to ONLY tell Quinn?"

Brittany takes a step back, her eyebrows furrow and she blinks rapidly, trying to keep the impending tears at bay. Santana never yells at her, sure she was upset with her, but she never really _yelled._ With a heavy sigh, she looks back into Santana's eyes hoping to soften them a little before attempting to explain herself.

"Santana, may be you two should discuss this later. Like, after my brother's friend leaves and they aren't spying out of the upstairs window." Quinn's yes dart upward and to the left quickly and settle back onto Santana's. "At least keep your voice down or stand in the garage while I rinse this off." Santana nods and turns to look up at the window in time to see two little heads disappear behind the window sill. She smiles at the power she can still maintain even when she feels completely out of control in the situation with Brittany.

"I'm sorry Santana. I keep screwing up. I should've told you that he knew, but I was just so excited that you were talking to me again, and that you wanted to figure this out. I just forgot. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell him but he kept asking, he knew I was hiding something." Brittany's eyes are now fully brimming with tears as she wrings her hands in front of her and bites her lip. She doesn't even look at Santana until a small hand coaxes her head upward. "He likes you, he won't say anything I promise. You can even talk to him if you want. But trust me, he likes you, I think he's jealous he can't get his sweet lady kisses on with you, but I guess he can't either way because he's not a girl so it'd be like... sweet boy girl kisses or sweet man lady kisses." She pauses and shakes her head, laughing a little at herself, "That just sounds weird."

Santana sighs, despite her fears and apprehensions about someone else knowing, she knows she can trust Brittany. That doesn't stop her from checking though, "You pinky promise he won't say anything and that no one else knows?"

Brittany sticks out her pinky with an emphatic nod and a wavering, anxious smile. When Santana's finger locks with hers, she pulls them together and places three quick kisses to Santana's lips.

Santana giggles afterwards, "You're lucky you're cute."

* * *

><p>Santana gets into her dad's car that evening feeling a lot lighter and happier than she's been in months. They'd spent the rest of the time, until everyone had to go home, playing video games. Quinn's brother left with his friend an hour after they'd cleaned up and successfully crushed the girls in a game of Wii tennis. This ended up meaning that Santana could snuggle up against Brittany and mope at the loss while they watched TV and waited for their parents to come pick them up. Brittany felt bad Quinn had to stay home, even though her brother was gone, but was assured she had plenty to do and that she'd see them Monday morning. Santana just kissed her cheek and smiled.<p>

"Hey there kiddo, have a good time? You seem to be in a better mood than earlier."

Santana smiles, she wasn't sure if anyone really noticed her change in demeanor, but apparently someone had. "Yeah, just had a fun time with Quinn and Britt today."

Mr. Lopez gasps, "Well, there's a name I feel like I haven't heard in a while! How's my favorite dancer doing?" He asks, his eyes flicking from her to the road and back.

"Dad, you know Jamie dances still too right?" He shrugs and turns to wink at her as she laughs. She loves that her dad can joke that Brittany is his favorite and honestly accepts her as an adoptive daughter. "She's good. We just had a bit of an issue, but it's all good now."

"Good. I've missed her, and that smile of yours." He pats her leg. "So, it's just us for dinner tonight, want to get food while we are out, or just scrounge up some grub from home?"

Santana grimaces and rolls her eyes, "Um, as appealing as grub scrounging _sounds_... I'm going to vote for picking something up. Like say, tacos or sushi. You choose."

Mr. Lopez turns down a side street. "Sushi it is. I'm not feeling very Spanish-American today."

Santana laughs and shakes her head, "Trying to tap into that fake Japanese heritage you seem to think you have, _Papi_?" She makes sure to lay her latino accent on thick when she speaks. "I'm pretty sure you aren't fooling anyone."

"Hooo, you wan why rice or brow rice. S'ank you very much." He quickly puts his hands together and bows.

In the midst of her hysterics Santana manages to speak, "I hope I never have any friends that might get offended by that. I'd hate to be embarrassed to bring them home."

"Glad to see your sense of humor has returned. I'd _hate_ to have to disown you as my daughter."

* * *

><p>"BRITTANY SUSAN PIERCE! What in God's name makes you think you can just leave a note and run off to a friend's house? Telling your cousin isn't an acceptable response either!" Mrs. Pierce is towering over a seated Brittany. When they got home she was immediately told to sit on the couch while her mother paced in front of her. Her brothers had been sent to their room and told to not come up until called for dinner.<p>

"I'm sorry. Santana and Quinn called and they needed me to come over to help them with a project, and I needed to talk to Santana, and you guys wouldn't be home anyway. I tried to run out before dad left but I was too late." The whole time, she keeps her gaze just below her mother's, too afraid to look her in the eye. Deep down she knew she would probably get into trouble but she really needed to talk to Santana and making things better with her was worth getting yelled at and probably grounded or forced to do extra chores for a while. Her and Santana were okay again, they could kiss and not freak out, as long as they were careful about it. Everything felt a million times better.

"You aren't even listening anymore are you? Two weeks, straight home after dance classes, no visiting friends. I expect your homework to be done before dinner for those two weeks and you are also on dishes for a month. Are we clear?"

Brittany nods, finally making eye contact with her mother to ensure she doesn't have to stay seated any longer. "I'm sorry mom. Really, I am."

"Just, go downstairs until dinner is ready." Brittany jumps up from her seat and leaps over the back of the couch. "Ugh, what have I told you kids about doing that!?" Brittany yells her apology as she races down the stairs.

Eric is laying on the couch playing his new Halo game. "Oooo, someone got into trouble! Thanks a lot for spilling the beans about Halo, I was hoping to get some practice time in before getting my ass kicked."

Brittany scratches her head. _When did I spill beans? Is that why mom was mad? Did I knock over beans on my way out? What's that have to do with angels and video games?_ She shrugs and continues into her room. Closing the door behind her, she grabs her journal and flops down on her bed to write about the incredible day she had.

Fifteen minutes into the retelling, she hears her door creak open and the messy blonde hair of her littlest brother peeking through. "Can I come in Britt?" He shuts the door behind him and hurries over when she pats the spot next to her. "How much trouble are you in? Are you happier now? When mom said you were at Quinn's I got confused but then I figured maybe Santana was there too. Was she?"

Brittany pulls her brother into her so his head is resting against her shoulder. "Yeah buddy, she was there and we are good. She wasn't too happy I told you what was going on so she might talk to you whenever she comes over next. But you have at least two weeks before that happens, mom kind of grounded me and I have to do a month of dishes."

"That sucks, I'll help you if you want. I like doing dishes with you, you always make it fun. Remember that time we were pretending we were in the World Champion of Dish Washing and we had to make the dishes as clean as possible but mom cooked chicken that day and the pan was like _IMPOSSIBLE_ to clean?!" Andy is unable to control his excited giggling as he reminisces.

"Yeah, that was pretty intense. Good thing the other team got disqualified for enhanced dish soap!" Now both of them are in hysterics on Brittany's bed. When Brittany finally calms down, she pulls her brother into a hug. "Thank you for being a great brother. Mom may not let you help me but you're awesome for wanting to and for listening to me talk about Santana."

Andy pulls out of the hug and scoots to the edge of the bed to hang his feet off the edge, then lays on his back. "I just want you to be happy and if Santana does that, then I don't care. You're my sister either way. Are you two like..."

Brittany shakes her head and leans back so Andy's head is against her side, the blissful smile at the thought of Santana remains intact. "No, just best friends right now, but we aren't sweet lady kissing anyone else."

"What about boys? Is it still sweet lady kissing if you kiss boys?" _He really is my brother, no doubt about it._

"We aren't kissing anyone else. Why, trying to mack on my best friend there Andy?" She pokes her brother's stomach and ends up turning it into a full on tickle fight before they are interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

"Hey, weirdos! Mom called for dinner, you two better get up there, Brittany or you'll get into _more_ trouble!" They listen as Eric's heavy footsteps ascend the stairs before finally emerging from the room and racing to the stairs. Brittany slides gracefully across the wooden dance floor and grabs her brother, throwing him over her shoulder as she runs upstairs.

* * *

><p>Santana's getting ready for bed when she hears the front door close and her sister hollering from downstairs. She tries to hurry, hoping if she can finish getting ready she'll be able to get into bed and pretend to be asleep before her sister realizes she's still up. She brushes her teeth as if she's in a race and, as quietly as possible, turns on the water to rinse out her mouth. She's about to step out into the hall when she sees her sister heading for the stairs. <em>Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Please don't ruin my mood!<em>

"Well, hey there, baby sister!" She hurries up the stairs to catch Santana before she disappears into her room. "How was your play date at Quinn's?"

Santana pushes past her, and into her room. "Fuck off Jamie."

Jamie pushes against the door to keep it from closing and slips inside. "Ah, feistiness has returned." She jumps onto the bed and lays down. "Things okay with you and the blonde bestie? Did you kiss and make up?" When Santana doesn't respond, she pushes further. "You know I'm talking about Britt right? Her mom called earlier looking for her, so obviously, she was with you and Quinn. Did you plan this secret date ahead of time?"

"Jamie! Seriously! Shut up and get out of my room!" Santana tries to pull her sister off the bed but is too tired to put any effort into it.

"How about this, you tell me what is _really_ going on and I'll leave you be. I'm not an idiot Santana, I can tell that you are hiding something. I won't tell mom and dad if you don't want me to."

Santana is completely thrown off by her sister's, well... sisterly love, but not enough for her to spill the biggest secret she's ever had to someone who gets a kick out of making her life difficult. "Thanks, but I'm going to sleep Jamie. Good night, I'm sure you can manage to find the door and shut off the light on your way out, yeah?" She pulls the covers from underneath her and slips in between.

"Fine, but you know I'm going to figure it out one way or another." Jamie gets up with a huff and walks out, purposely leaving the light on and the door wide open, even going as far to turn the hallway light on that shines directly into Santana's room.

_Well, glad to see the sisterly love has a sixty-second time limit. I swear, that girl needs just a few really good smacks upside the head and maybe she'll be almost normal._

Groaning, she gets out of bed, turns off both lights, and makes sure to close and lock her door.

_Would it really be so bad if Jamie knew? Britt told Andy and she said he seemed okay with it. But Andy isn't Jamie, Andy would never use it against Brittany or just be an asshole in general like Jamie is. Maybe I can tell Tierney instead, she seemed pretty cool about stuff at Easter. At least this way someone in my family will know for sure. Maybe I just shouldn't say anything yet, it's not like we're dating so what's the big deal right? Just because she's the most amazing girl I've ever met and hanging out with her is better than anything else, including that time I made the game winning shot in a basketball tournament and got us first place. I still think Quinn might not be totally okay with it, maybe I should talk to her again about it, or maybe Brittany and I can ease her into being comfortable. I like that, "Brittany and I" but what does that even mean? Do I want to date her? That would just be all sorts of problematic to keep on the down low, especially since Brittany gets really excited about things, and what if Brittany doesn't even want that. What if she just wants to kiss me? I'm being paranoid and crazy, aren't I? Dammit Lopez, rest that stupid brain of yours or you'll give yourself a headache. Arguing with yourself...definitely falls under the Crazy category. Check._


End file.
